Sweet Dreams
by nimblnymph
Summary: CHAPTER 16! AND THE EPILOGUE! It's all over now... please, someone, give me a hug!
1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, this is the third story in the collection that started with Upsetting the Balance and just finished with Child of Darkness. There are some original characters that I created in this, so if you're unfamiliar with them...you obviously didn't read the other two stories! You can keep reading if you want...but you're gonna be up chocolate creek without a paddle.

Okay, the REAL AN: This story is written a little differently. There are going to be HUGE sections written in italics. You'll catch on very quickly as to what the italics are. I don't want to give it away too early though. Also, some of the italics are written in bold. Again, you'll learn very quickly as to why. These two things are key to the entire story, which is why I'm writing this short novel of an AN. Okay, thank you everyone for being so patient while I got this one out. It's REALLY long, so be happy!

* * *

CHAPTER 1: Road Trip!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Kei groaned, pushing his head further under his pillow and groped blindly for the alarm clock. He found it on the nightstand and gave it his version of the snooze button. He shoved it on the floor and listened to it break open. He'd worry about it later, at least it was quiet now.

The bed moved next to him and Sete groaned. "God, what time is it?" she mumbled. Her hand worked it's way up under his shirt to rub his back. He hissed at how cold her hand was but didn't bother telling her to stop. She wouldn't anyway.

"Early," he mumbled back. Why the hell did he set that alarm again? He could feel the sunlight and knew it had to be really early from how weak it was. God, why did he set that damn alarm?

The door to his room was flung open and an annoyingly cheerful voice called, "RISE AND SHINE!"

"There will be no rising before nine, and no shining until ten or until I've had a cup of coffee," Kei replied. He heard Sete's little chuckle from under her own pillow. They both yelped and made a grab for the covers that were yanked off them.

Himeno stood at the foot of the bed, full dressed and grinning. She held the blanket and sheet in one hand, the other on her hip. "Come on, we're gonna be late! Mawata just called and said they were bringing the car over now. Get up!"

"What are you babbling about?" Kei snarled, pushing his long hair out of his eyes to glare at her better.

"Our road trip of course! Remember? My mom and dad rented a car for us to take to the beach for two weeks? Kei, you better not have forgotten!"

Oh, right. The beach. Now he remembered why he'd set the alarm. Scowling, he grabbed his robe from the bedpost and threw it on, tugging Sete's arm.

"Lemme know when it gets here," she said, voice muffled by the pillow.

Kei whipped the pillow off her head, grabbed her wrist and hauled her over his shoulder.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR DEAL? Kei, drop me THIS INSTANT!"

"If I have to get out of MY BED," he stressed the fact it was, in fact, his bed. "You're coming with me."

"I hate you. If you don't wanna get groined, you better get me a damn cup of coffee," she said, hanging over his shoulder like a rag doll.

Himeno laughed and practically skipped for the door. "There's coffee in the kitchen! And pancakes, too. Blaise got up extra early to make them."

"He's as crazy as Kei," Sete remarked dryly. She yelped when he smacked her ass. "DEAD! YOU'RE DEAD WHEN I GET DOWN!"

Smiling, Kei carried her over his shoulder to the kitchen before dropping her to get his coffee mug.

Blaise was at the stove, flipping two pans at once. This week, his hair was red with white tips spiked up in messy pieces. "Morning, duckies! How do you want your pancakes? We can do doughy, flat, fluffy, cajun-,"

"Cajun?" Sete asked, taking the coffee Kei handed to her.

Blaise grinned and motioned to the plate of blackened pancakes that Shin, Hajime and Mannen were eating in delight. "You char 'em so they soak up more syrup. Those three are gonna be on a sugar rush the whole trip."

Sete and Kei exchanged glances. "He's dead, not you," Sete said, taking a sip of black coffee.

Hayate stumbled into the kitchen, still blinking and in his pajamas. Himeno ran up to him and kissed him. He just stared at her like she was a strange bug he couldn't decide to leave alone or squish. "Good morning, Hayate," she said bubbly.

"Is it?" he croaked out. Clearly he'd just gotten up as well.

Laughing, Himeno opened the fridge and pulled out the orange juice pitcher. "Yep, it's a great morning! Did you sleep well? You look a little tired!"

"Someone kept kicking me," Hayate said, taking the orange juice she handed to him and chugging it back. "And then I just started falling asleep after the kicker left when the smoke alarm outside the bedroom went off."

Blaise chuckled and turned around. Kei's eyebrows went up. Covering the front of the Englishman's black t-shirt and khaki pants was a bright pink frilly apron. "What, admiring me bit o' fanciness?" he joked, grinning at Kei.

"Pink's your color for sure," Kei answered, arm sneaking behind Sete's waist to give her a quick little hug. Coffee was so good! He poured another cup and refilled hers as well.

"Thanks, mate! I was thinkin' about dying me hair pink sometime."

"You'd look like a Barbie doll," Mannen said around his cajun pancakes.

Blaise whacked Mannen in the back of the head. "Bloody prat! Finish yer pancakes!"

"Are we going to the beach today?" Shin asked, legs swinging back and forth excitedly.

"Yeah," Hajime answered, sitting on his knees in his chair. He leaned across the table and grabbed more syrup to douse his pancakes in.

Hayate grabbed the bottle before Hajime could use it. "It looks like you three have had enough sugar," he said, eying the pools still sitting on the plates.

Blaise slid a plate of pancakes over to Sete and Kei. "Thought you'd like the fluffy ones," he said before flipping the two skillets at once.

"And then she sighs and whispers, 'But we were meant for each other! I simply cannot survive without you!' And he says..." Yayoi and Feryn entered then, fully dressed and staring into each others eyes like there was nothing else around them.

Groaning, Kei used the excuse of kissing Sete's cheek to mutter, "Goddamn chipper people in the morning."

Sete smiled and patted his cheek. "Let's kill them, darling, what do you think?"

"That's better than my voodoo doll idea." She laughed and returned to her coffee.

Himeno clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Okay! The car's gonna be here any minute so everyone get dressed and ready! Blaise, don't worry about clean up, my mom's sending over some cleaners to take care of it! Come ON, hustle!"

Shin, Hajime and Mannen went screaming from the room, waving their arms in the air excitedly. They started hauling their bags to the front door and dropping them there. Feryn and Yayoi, who already had their stuff neatly arranged by the door, sat down and started snuggling and kissing.

Kei rolled his eyes. "God, do you two know how to clear a room. Excuse me while I puke!"

Blaise whipped off his apron, grabbing a handful of six pancakes and shoving them into his mouth. "Right behind you, mate," he said around the food, stealing the syrup from Hayate and pouring it straight into his mouth.

"Oh, that's real nice, Blaise," Hayate called after him. Blaise's only answer was a muffled laugh.

Sete stopped at the door to the kitchen and scowled when Hayate made no move to get dressed. "Hey, how come he doesn't have to hustle?" she demanded.

"It takes me about five minutes to get ready, that's why," he answered. "You and Kei spend too much time trying to out pretty the other.""Hey, Hayate? Bite me!" Sete shot back. Kei dragged her away before anything other than a quick insult was thrown.

Hayate smiled and went to the sink to rinse his glass out. It was an automatic gesture that stemmed from him being a neat freak. As if suddenly realizing Himeno was sitting on the counter with some tea, leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Sorry, good morning. I wasn't awake enough to say it earlier."

Himeno smiled and put the plate of pancakes she was eating between them. "Want some?"

Eyes going wide, he almost choked on the coffee he was now drinking. "What? You, sharing food? Unbelievable! OUCH!"

Scowling, she brought her fist back again threateningly. "Wanna keep it up? I've been up for two whole hours already, buddy!"

"I know." He smiled again and gave her a more proper kiss. And just as he'd planned, her fist unballed. He drew back slowly, smiling.

Realizing what he'd just done, Himeno gave him a mock glare. "You're a jerk! Get dressed, cuz I'm not waiting for you!"

Hayate drained off the rest of his coffee and waved a hand in her direction. "Okay, okay! I'm going! Geeze, you're worse than a mother hen!" His breath left him as she jumped from the counter top onto his back, arms choking a little and legs wrapping around his waist.

"Yep, just a regular monkey on your back." She laughed at her own joke, helping to get a more comfortable position on his back as his hands went under her thighs to support her better. And she kept laughing when he piggy backed her all the way to his room before setting her down outside the door.

He turned around, touching her cheek gently. "I missed waking up to you," he said softly before kissing her again.

Himeno sighed against his lips, arms going around his neck. She could taste the coffee on him, but even that was nice. It was still him and he made her heart speed up with just a glance, a little twitch of a smile. She really did love him! When he drew back, she made a small protesting sound, but stepped back all them same.

He was still brushing his fingers against her cheek, fingers trailing in the curled edges of her hair. "Are you sure about this?"

"About what, wanting to kiss you until you can't breath? Sounds like fun!"

Smiling, he shook his head. "No, this. The trip. I mean, it's only been a month since..."

Himeno sighed. Why did he have to remind her of that? "Trust me. I NEED this! I think we all do. Now, get dressed and hurry up. If you don't make it out before Kei, he's gonna mock you the whole trip!"

Grimacing at giving the ascerbic Knight of Light an excuse to mock him, Hayate kissed her again and went into his room, shutting the door behind him.

Sighing again, Himeno leaned against the wall, closing her eyes. Maybe getting away for a bit would do more than relax everyone. She was hoping that being away from it all would FINALLY let her sleep without the nightmares. It was why she'd been awake before everyone else. She'd been dreaming about that day...when she had had almost killed Hayate. She had thought she was over it, but she wasn't. It kept nagging at her when she closed her eyes at night. It wasn't as bad when she slept over at the safe house with him and woke up with him sprawled all over her (he liked to hog the bed), the smell of his shampoo on the pillow under her head. But when she was alone, in her room at home...sometimes, she thought the dreams were so real she'd wake up screaming, hands burning with the memory of being around his throat. Himeno opened her eyes and stared at her hands, holding them in front of her. These hands...they almost...almost...

Long fingers covered her hands, brought them up to thin lips. Hayate had come out while she was lost in thought. He smiled gently, squeezing her hands. "Ready, Tulip-head?"

Himeno's eyes narrowed at the nickname. "Grr...you're lucky I love you too much to break your jaw!"

Hayate put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick hug as they walked down the hall. "Love you, too...Tulip-head!"

She shoved him playfully and he laughed.

* * *

"Whoa...I thought you said she was bringin' a car, love," Blaise said in awe, eyes looking up and up...and up.

Everyone stood outside gaping at the huge travel bus parked out front. They didn't need to be inside to know it was more luxurious than most houses. The door at the front opened and Mawata stepped off the bus, curls bouncing. She offered a little smile to them and came over, She was wearing a jean skirt today with a pink polo shirt and flipflops. "Sorry we're late," she said quietly.

"Hey...I thought we were taking a van or something," Himeno said, still staring at the bus.

"A van? Oh, no a van would be too common place for Miss Mawata!"

Everyone turned around as a shiny bald head appeared at the door.

Blaise squinted and then blinked. "Blimey, you brought a leprechaun? Where' me pot of gold, little man?"

Himeno smacked herself in the forehead, grimacing at Blaise's joke.

Mr. Tanaka drew his four foot ten inch frame up proudly and said, "I'll have you know that I was the tallest in my class...in third grade." This last was mumbled so low the Knight of Flowers didn't hear.

"Mr. Tanaka, please get their bags stored," Mawata asked. Everyone followed her back on the bus, Blaise quirking a brow at the stilts by the driver's seat for pushing on the gas and break pedals. He muttered something about "crazy little men gettin' us all killed" before pulling out his iPod and taking a seat near the back.

The interior had rows of extra wide cushioned seats, more like La-Z-Boys than bus seats. All of the seats had their own miniature tvs. There was a bathroom in the back that even had a shower in it. A fridge was in the back as well, completely stocked with snacks and beverages.

"Wooooooowwww!" Mannen and Hajime exclaimed together. The two looked at each other and then ran for the window seats. Shin followed them, sitting in a seat right in front of them so he could also look out the window.

Kei and Sete took the seats near the front and as far away from the three younger Knights as possible. Yayoi and Feryn found some in the middle and immediately began a mock argument over who loved who more. Mawata, after some prompting from Himeno, went to the back and sat near Blaise, who winked at her but didn't say a word. He was already lost in his music.

This then left Hayate and Himeno with the difficult task of picking their poison. Hayate sighed and said, "If we sit up front, Tanaka's going to be watching us like a cat on a mouse."

"And sitting near Yayoi and Feryn is gonna make me puke," Himeno mumbled.

"I don't want to sit near the kids on a sugar rush."

"But I don't wanna interupt Blaise and Mawata."

They glanced at each other and then Hayate shrugged. "We could sit in front of the younger three. They'll be out soon when they crash."

Himeno nodded. It was a full day and a half drive to the beach. She was kind of glad they weren't all crammed into a van now for the same reasons they couldn't decide where to sit. She followed him back a few rows, letting him take the window seat. She was going to sleep anyway.

Hayate lifted the armrest from between them so that she could snuggle up against him. They then spent a few minutes while Mr. Tanaka was loading the bus to squirm around until they found a comfortable spot. "So, your mom owns a beach house, too?" he asked. Her head was on his chest and it made her smile to feel his voice vibrate against her ear.

She nodded, hugging his arm closer around her. He had one leg stretched across all three seats and had his back to the side of the bus, one of the seat pillows between him and the glass. She was lying down sort of on top of him, on her back, with both legs stretched out alongside his. "Yep, and it's ours until we all get bored with it!" She scowled when Hajime shoved Shin's seat and sent the smaller knight into theirs.

"Sorry, Himeno," Shin said, standing on his seat and peaking over at them.

"S;okay, sprout," she said, ruffling his hair up.

Shin smiled and giggled before turning to look over his seat at Mannen and Hajime.

Mr. Tanaka climbed on board and started the bus. The sound of the engine starting up got Blaise's attention from in back. "Oi, are you tellin' me the wee little man's driving the bus?" he asked in a not-so-quiet whisper to Mawata.

Himeno's laugh burst out of her in a quick snort that Hayate covered up with his hand. They both knew how Mr. Tanaka reacted to things like that and didn't want it directed at them.

They weren't disappointed either. The angry blush slowly spread from his cheeks all the way up his bald head. "I have been driving for the Awayuki family since BEFORE they were the Awayuki family!" he exploded. "And if a common street hoodlum such as yourself has a problem with it...you can ride...THE PUBLIC BUS!"

Blaise sank down as far as he could into his seat, pulling the hood to his sweatshirt up to hide in better. "Blood hell, mate," he mumbled. Mawata was trying very hard not to smile, and was failing at it miserably.

"Can we go now?" Mannen whined, standing up in his seat to see up front.

Hajime joined him, bouncing up and down. "Yeah, we wanna go! Come on, come on!"

"Let's go! Let's go!" Shin added, smiling happily at this new game.

"Mannen, Hajime, Shin, sit down," Hayate said sharply.

All three were quick to listen, Mannen grumbling about taking orders on vacation.

Once everyone was seated again, Mr. Tanaka pulled away from the front of the house and started the long drive to the beach.

* * *

Mawata kept glancing over at Blaise, who seemed completely lost in his music. Himeno had said to sit next to him and try talking...but she didn't know what to say! She had his screen name and they talked online all the time, but he didn't know it was her. He thought she was loneangel, a girl who liked everything from opera to Offspring. he'd asked several times if they'd ever met and what her name was...but she'd never told him. She was too scared. The last knight she'd had feelings for...

She crossed her arms over her stomach and looked out the window. No, that was different. She hadn't actually loved Sasame. She loved how he made her feel normal, like what she had been going through emotionally was perfectly natural. He had accepted her, and that was why she had cared for him. This, with Blaise, was the opposite. She didn't need anything from him, whereas with Sasame she needed to hear him reassure her constantly. Blaise made her laugh. He was very kind, always looking out for the others. She really, really liked him.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Mawata turned to ask Blaise a question...

Only to find him watching her from under the hood to his sweatshirt. Blushing, she looked away again.

Blaise pulled one earphone out and said, "Right, so what kind of music you interested in?"

"Huh?" Mawata turned back in surprise. Was he...was he talking to her?

"Music? You know, that stuff with the notes and the voices and instruments?" He was grinning at her, brown eyes flickering with amusement.

"Oh...all kinds." Such a horrible answer! Everyone said that. Why did she have to go and say something so cliche?

"All kinds, huh? Well, me too. Got everything on here from Tori Amos to Led Zeppelin to Puccini to Jimmy Buffet. What's your poison?"

"My...poison?"

"What do you wanna listen to, love? You look bored to tears." He pulled out an extra pair of earphones with a little attachment that would allow them to both listen and plugged it all in, handing her the extra pair.

"Oh, thank you." Mawata smiled, heart beating a little faster. He was being so nice about this! She knew from talking to him online that he really loved music. His favorite changed with each week though (like his hair color) so it was hard to say what to listen to.

"So, I'm guessing you're a classical girl, right? Lotsa piano and arias and all that?" he continued, scrolling through the music menu on his iPod.

Holding her breath nervously, Mawata took a chance and said, "I do like classical, but a friend just got me into listening to the Dresden Dolls. Do you have that?" She knew he did. He was the friend who told her to listen to them.

Blaise looked up, blinking in surprise. "You...like Dresden Dolls? That's right brilliant, that is! Right-o, Dresden Dolls it is!"

Mawata smiled and let her held breath out. "Thank you, Blaise."

"Anything for a lady!" They settled back in their seats, both closing their eyes and settling in for the drive.

* * *

Himeno peeked up over her seat to the back of the bus. Did Mawata..."Ahh!"

Hayate pulled her back down again. "Stop checking on them, it's creepy," he complained.

"Creepy? How the hell is it creepy?" she demanded.

"What if they're hitting it off back there and they look up and see some Tulip-head peering over the seat at them? It would freak me out."

Himeno scowled and elbowed him in the stomach. Hayate grunted, eyes opening, but still smiling. "I wasn't peering anyway! I was merely...looking in."

He laughed quietly and pulled her down again. She sighed, resuming her former position. This was nice, just lying here with him. So quiet and...

"If you'd had a ski mask, you would have looked like a stalker."

"Me? A stalker? Again, who was peeping through the bushes when we first met?"

He was fully awake now. "I wasn't peeping, how many different ways do I need to say it? YOU were the one actually in the bushes! If anything, I should be angry at you for that!"

"WHAT?" She sat up, fuming. Mannen, Hajime and Shin had all run for cover, going over to Feryn and Yayoi. Feryn seemed mighty annoyed he'd had to unstick his tongue from Yayoi's throat.

Hayate sat up as well, eyes blazing. "Weren't you the one to throw herself on top of me?" he shouted back.

"I sure as hell didn't THROW myself on you! You got in my way!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Oi! You up front! Keep the foreplay in the bedroom!"

The entire bus fell silent at Blaise's remark. Kei and Sete looked back from the front of the bus, eyes wide. Mr. Tanaka almost swerved into a ditch. Himeno and Hayate sank down into their seats as far as possible, both redder than red. "Was that absolutely necessary, Blaise?" Hayate called back.

"It was for me peace o' mind! How am I to enjoy me music with you two makin' all that racket?"

"What's foreplay?" Shin asked loudly.

Kei and Sete started laughing from the front at the young Knight of Plants' innocent inquirery.

Shin, looking around confused at all the shocked stares, made big teary eyes.

"It is a game for adults," Feryn explained simply. "It is like hop scotch or jacks..."

"Or Twister," Blaise snickered from the back. Mawata, jaw dropped but trying not to laugh, elbowed him sharply.

"Oh, God," Himeno groaned, covering her eyes. Twister was now definately ruined. It was Shin's favorite game.

"Ohh! Okay!" Shin seemed happy with the answer and sat down again in between Hajime and Mannen.

Himeno felt Hayate's hands on hers, prying them away from her face. "Now that they're not right behind us..." Her arms went around his neck when he kissed her. It was nothing major or serious like what Feryn and Yayoi had been doing earlier, just several little quick kisses that still managed to get her stomach fluttering.

"Are we there yet?"

They both froze at Hajime's complaint. "Please, no..." Hayate grimaced when the same thing was repeated by Shin and then Mannen.

"We are not there yet, and we will not be there for several hours still," Mr. Tanaka replied irritably.

"But why not? We can get there faster if we-mmph!" Mannen and Hajime were quick to cover Shin's mouth before he spilled anything about them being leafe knights.

"We can get there quieter if we throw you three off the bus," Kei commented dryly.

"Hey, that's really mean, Kei!" Hajime shouted.

"I know. It's true though."

"And if you three are lucky, we might even slow the bus down," Sete added.

It got the three quiet and very quickly settled in a matter of seconds.

"Aw...you two are gonna make such cute parents," Blaise hollered from the back.

"WHAT!" Both Sete and Kei jumped at that, whirling around with panic-stricken eyes.

Blaise started laughing and kept laughing when the other two threw two pillows and a bag of peanuts at him. "Look, Mawata, they're givin' us presents!"

"When this bust stops, I'm gonna be giving you a hell of a lot more," Sete threatened.

"Can all of you _enfants_ please quiet down? _Ma belle fleur_ and I cannot read with all this racket," Feryn shouted.

"Readin' your soft porn again are, ya?" Blaise sneered. It drove him insane to find romance novels lying around the house.

"What's porn?" Shin asked loudly. Again, the bus almost swerved into a ditch.

"Blaise!" Hayate shouted as a warning.

"What?" Blaise asked back innocently.

"Keep the conversation PG, got it?"

"Whatever you say, boss," the Englishman mumbled, sinking back into his seat and scowling.

Mawata leaned in and whispered, "I agree with you. I can't stand going into my mom's library and finding all that romance stuff all over."

Blaise smiled and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Thank you, God, for puttin' me with such an understandin' woman!"

Blushing, Mawata smiled and even took a little risk by leaning up closer to him, using his shoulder for support. Perhaps she would come out and tell him on this trip. That was the soul reason she was coming, anyway. Well, that and Himeno had asked her to.

The bus fell silent as the three younger knights fell asleep, their sugar-induced high fading and leaving them exhausted. Feryn and Yayoi were reading together, mixed with little make-out sessions if the characters got..."closer". Blaise and Mawata were listening to music. Kei and Sete were talking softly up front.

Which left Hayate and Himeno alone. Hayate sighed, putting his seat back as far as it would go. "I'm going to sleep," he said.

"Oh, me too," Himeno added. She put the seat down next to his so that it made an awkward little bed. Hayate smiled and let her snuggle in next to him, even sharing the small pillow with her. He was out very quickly, which left Himeno awake and staring at the opposite wall. She really wanted to sleep...but she was afraid. What if those horrible dreams came back? SIghing, she shifted a little to try and get more comfortable. Hayate sighed, arm tightening around her to hold her closer. It was a subconscious reaction, one that made her smile and settle back against him. She really did love him. There was no way those dreams could end the way they did. Never! Himeno closed her eyes and went to sleep.

_"Goh! NOO! Don't do it, Goh!"_

_"HIMENO! You need to get out of there now!"_

_"Not without Goh! GOH! PLEASE, GOH!"_

_"It's the only way. I'm sorry, Himeno."_

_**Himeno? Himeno, wake up!**_

Himeno sat right up, gasping, sweat dripping down her face and breathing hard. Hayate was sitting next to her, a concerned look on his face. "What...what happened?" she choked out, fighting the tears that stung her eyes. Goh...

"We stopped for dinner at a rest station. Mr. Tanaka's taking a break. Were you having a bad dream?" He was touching her cheek gently, pushing back damp pieces of hair and looking really worried.

"I...I guess you could say that," she mumbled. God, that was so horrible! The whole incident played through her mind again, but not as startlingly real as the dream had been. "Hayate?"

"Yes?"

"Can you just hold me?"

His arms went around her, one hand rubbing her back. He kissed her cheek and then her shoulder gently. "Hey, calm down. It was only a dream, Himeno."

She knew that. She knew that it was only a dream of what had happened a year ago. It didn't change how it was making her feel right now. Himeno wrapped her arms around his waist, breathing in that crisp apple scent he wore, letting the steady beating of his heart lull her back to a calm state. He always had such a calming effect on her...except for when they were fighting. But Hayate knew when she needed a hug and when to press her buttons. Right now, it was hugging.

"God, you're really worked up over this," he whispered, still holding her. "What happened?"

She bit her lower lip. It WAS only a dream..."Nothing," she lied. "Just...nothing. I can't remember it."

Whether or not he believed her, Hayate let it slide all the same. "Are you hungry? I brought you some food."

Himeno sat back when she heard paper rustle and he produced a McDonald's bag. "Is it...?"

Hayate made a face and said, "Yes, it is. Chocolate ice cream in a cup with chicken nuggets to dip in it."

Grabbing the bag from him and pulled out all the food in there. His normal hamburger and french fries and her chicken nugget special. They both shared the drink.

"So," she asked, making sure to really swirl her chicken around in the chocolate ice cream. The look Hayate was giving her was torn between looking sick and being disgusted. "Where's everyone else?"

"Inside," Hayate answered absently. He seemed almost too distracted watching her eat to eat himself. "Do you do that on purpose?"

"What, eat it? Yeah, I do! How else am I supposed to live?" Himeno nudged him playfully, stealing some of his fries.

"Hey! Those are mine." He made a grab for her wrist.

Laughing, Himeno quickly shoved the french fries into her mouth. And then made a dive to save her chicken that he snatched from her. She fell right across his lap and was laughing so hard she could barely move. The laughter faded though when he bent over and kissed her, pulling her up so that she was sitting across his legs, fingers combing his long hair free of the clip. Hayate made a small sound, arms going around to pull her in closer to him. She jumped a little when his cold hands touched the bare skin of her back, keeping just under her bra and above her jeans. Hayate pulled back when she jerked away, eyes questioning.

Himeno smiled and shook her head. "Your hands are freezing."

"Sorry." He began to pull them away. She grabbed his wrists, stopping him.

"It's okay." She leaned forward and kissed him again, moving her hands from his wrists up his arms and around his neck.

"AHEM! Miss Himeno, that is NOT appropriate behavior! What would Mr. and Mrs. Awayuki say if they could see this?"

"YAHHHH!" Himeno jumped at the sound of Mr. Tanaka's voice behind her and fell off the seat, landing right into the ice cream bowl on the floor of the bus. Hayate managed to grab her arm in time to keep her from whacking her head on the foot rest, but it still hurt her ass.

"Himeno! We heard you scream!" Kei and Sete came running up, almost plowing Mr. Tanaka over.

"It's nothing for you to worry about! Hormones, that's all," Mr. Tanaka declared, going back to the front of the bus.

"EWWW! You two were kissing, weren't you?" Hajime said, twisting his face into a disgusted expression.

"Shut up, Hajime," Hayate bit out.

Hajime stuck his tongue out and Kei smacked him in the back of the head. "OUCH! KEI!"

"You're acting like a bad puppy so you get hit like one. Go get the others. I'd like to get to the beach house sometime soon!"

Hajime grumbled but was quick to do as Kei asked.

Kei, meanwhile, leaned on the seat and shook his head. "Well, I will say one thing for you two. At least you waited to be alone. Unlike a certain other couple." He scowled and looked back over his shoulder as Yayoi and Feryn came back on, Yayoi fixing her glasses, which were a little steamed up.

Himeno wrinkled her nose, suddenly very glad she and Hayate had dinner on the bus. Everyone else piled on, Blaise shouting something about his stomach churning with all the lovey-dovey crap, before taking a seat in the back again with Mawata.

"Everyone, take your seat! We will be arriving at the beach house within the next eight hours!"

Himeno settled back into the seat again with Hayate, leaning her head on his shoulder. Eight more hours and then...

Sleep.


	2. Summer Fun?

CHAPTER 2: Summer Fun?

"Bloody hell!" The exclaimation was silently shared by everyone else as well. It was early evening and they had just reached the beach house...which was basically a small mansion in itself. The entire first floor was reserved for entertainment. A wide kitchen that led out back to an open fire pit near the beach, a small garden that was well tended, a servant house (which was a normal sized house) and a patio that was covered with a canopy tent and even had sofas for seating. Inside was a pool room with two tables, a lounge that had a card table and a bar, an arcade and what had to be the biggest flat screen tv ever made and a library of dvds and cds to make any collector jealous.

"WOW! Hajime, look at this!" Mannen grabbed Hajime's arm and dragged him to one of the three refridgerators, Shin following close behind them.

"Holy crap," Kei muttered, eyes going up the wide spiral stairs on either side of the main entrance. "This...is a beach house?"

"One of them," Mawata answered, tugging her red luggage out of the growing pile. She opened a side pocket and pulled out a little envelope that jingled as she moved it. Opening it, a small bunch of keys spilled out into her hand. "Mom made us some keys for the place." She handed them out to all the older knights, Yayoi and Himeno, saving one for the other three who were busy exploring the kitchen.

"One of them? You mean, she has more?" Blaise demanded.

Blushing, Mawata smiled. "She has one on the Meditearanian and another in Los Santos de Playa, in Mexico. We don't use those as much anymore, so she leases them out."

"Bliimey, I knew you were rich but...blimey!" It seemed for once the ever-talkative Knight of Flowers was rendered speachless.

"It's not that big a deal." Mawata began hauling her own bags up the stairs as Mr. Tanaka dropped the last of the luggage on the pile. It was a very battered, very duct-tape repaired suitcase with tons of band stickers all over it. Blaise grabbed it and was quick to follow her upstairs.

"Didn't mean it like that, love! Just...shocked. Oi, let me get your bag for you!" He reached for the handle to her suitcase...and their hands met briefly. Mawata blushed even darker and pulled away.

"I've got it, thanks," she mumbled, heart slamming in chest.

"Right...sorry 'bout that," Blaise mumbled back.

Thudding on the stairs told them that the others were coming up, Kei shouting back to the younger ones to grab their bags and find rooms. Blaise and Mawata were quick to get up the stairs to the second and the bedrooms.

"So, how many rooms are there?" Himeno asked, dropping her bulging suitcase ont he floor and taking deep breaths.

"Twelve, including the master bedroom, which we aren't allowed to use," Mawata answered. She pointed off down the hall at the very end. "That was the room Miyune and I shared. It has a bunk bed in it still, if Hajime and Shin want to share it."

"Cool! I get top bunk!" Hajime found an extra burst of energy and ran down the hall with his bag.

"No fair, no fair," Shin said, running after him. There was a squeal of laughter as Hajime tackled him at the door before it shut behind the two.

" I want this room! It has a water bed!" Mannen grabbed the room to the left of the other two.

"Just don't go freezing it," Kei shouted after him, readjusting the strap to his laptop case.

"Kei, the room over there has a desk in it," Mawata offered, pointing to the room right behind her.

"Great." He opened the door and flicked on the lights, whistling low. "Very nice!"

Sete followed him in, blushing a little when she saw the others watching her. Himeno was grinning happily. "Right, like you guys aren't going to be sharing rooms," she muttered. She slammed the door after herself. And locked it.

"Jaysus, that was less than subtle," Blaise commented, trudging down the hall to the other end and peering into the open doors. "I think I'll take this one."

"Oh, that's my room!" Mawata was quick to go down there and turn on the lights.

"Whoa...you weren't kidding about the music, love!" The walls were covered all over with posters that had been expertly hung and there was a book case along one wall that was filled with cds.

"Thanks."

"Sweet Jaysus, you like Buck Cherry, too?" Blaise dropped his bags and went over to the cd case. "You really have to let me go through this, Mawata! No...is this...?"

Mawata smiled, unzipping her bag. The rest of their group had already found their rooms. Hayate and Himeno were arguing in the next one over about who got what drawer and why. Everything was quiet from Feryn and Yayoi's room...whether that was good or bad was anyone's guess. "Yes, it is."

"Studio recording...of The Who! How did you get this?"

"My dad used to listen to The Who. It had been a birthday present to him, on tape. My mom had it transfered to cd for my thirteenth birthday."

Blaise was running fingers over every cd in the collection, mouthing some of the names. "You've got a bloody brilliant collection here."

"There's more."

"Huh?"

Laughing at the shock on his face, Mawata opened the enormous walk in closet...to show that only one side was used for clothing. "I've got all of these, too. They all go in order of release date. Out here I have sixties and seventies. In hear are eighties, nineties and new millenium. All are alphabatized by artist and then by album release."

"The Ataris...Fugazi...Maroon 5...What's this one?"

Mawata went over and looked at the one he'd pulled out, blushing and grabbing it from him quickly. "Oh, that's nothing!"

"It's not nothin'! Never heard of them before."

"And you never will. This...this is the band I write for. Orion's Tragedy. They only play locally, but they record at the studio and sell their cds at the shows."

"You write their songs?"

She smiled shyly and nodded, biting her lower lip nervously.

"That's...that's bloody brilliant. Can I?" Blaise held his hand out for the cd.

Slowly, she handed it to him, now very shy and very red. "It's nothing special..."

"Let me be the judge of that. Wow, I didn't know you wrote songs!" He seemed extremely impressed.

"Well...it's more like I try to. I'm not very good at it..."

Blaise laughed, flipping the hand written cd jacket over to read the different titles. "Yeah, I bet they're better than anything I've tried to do."

"You like to write music, too?" She already knew he did. He'd sent her some of his sample lyrics. They'd been very good.

Shrugging, eyes sparkling with a wicked humor, he said, "Naw, that guitar case with me is a fake. It's really where I hide all the bodies for transport."

Mawata laughed softly, hugging herself. "Maybe...maybe we can sit down sometime...and read each other's stuff?" She realized what she'd just said after they came out and covered her mouth in shock.

He laughed though, tucking the cd into the pouch pocket of his sweatshirt. "Jolly good! Well, better unpack now. See you 'round, love!" He left her room, picking his suitcase up again and shutting her door.

Mawata stood where he'd left her, grinning. She'd done it! Himeno had been right, all she had to do was ask! She began to unpack her stuff, humming happily as she went.

* * *

Dinner that night was held on the patio. Hayate and Blaise had gotten a fire going in the pit further down the beach and someone had found sparklers to give to the younger three. Shin was screaming with laughter and running around, trying to get away from Hajime and Mannen who were chasing him around the beach. Feryn and Yayoi had found a spot on one of the couches, snuggling under a blanket against the slightly chill wind that had kicked up as the evening set in. Sete was standing at the steps leading off the patio onto the beach, smiling when Kei came up behind her with a glass of wine. She smiled, taking it from him and leaned back against, watching as Blaise joined the others on the beach, armed with two sparklers to their one.

"Five bucks says Mannen catches Blaise on fire," she said softly.

"Ten on Shin doing the same thing," Kei replied, resting his head lightly on her shoulder.

"Okay, dinners ready!"

Both groaned at the sound of Himeno mentioning dinner. She and Mawata had been holed up in the kitchen for hours. That couldn't be a good thing. They turned...and were stunned.

Not one plate of food looked burned or undercooked. Shish kabobs with chicken and beef and shrimp, vegetables that had been lightly cooked with balsamic vinegar, a tray of fruit with dip. And Mawata had opened the liquor cabinet to supply a tray of mojitos for anyone older than twelve.

"Please tell me this food is as good as it looks," Kei begged. It would be such a crime if it turned out to be Himeno's cooking!

Scowling, Himeno jabbed him with a fork as she balanced two plates on her arm and two mojitos in the other. "You better not be saying I'm a bad cook or anything?"

"No, you're cooking serves a purpose...like for killing the enemies, poisoning rats and as a way to clear a room faster than Yayoi and Feryn."

The couple in question were too wrapped up (literally) to say anything to that. Mawata brought them a plate of food to share. They took turns feeding each other.

Sete rolled her eyes and tipped back to rest of her wine, grabbing a mojito quickly. "Hopefully there's more where these came from, Mawata?" she asked.

Mawata smiled a little and said, "I made two pitchers of it. They're in the refridgerator. I also made some sangria, if you'd prefer that."

Blaise came up then, out of breath from laughing and running away from the other three. He looked at the display of food and the drinks and shook his head. "A true domestic goddess, ladies and gents! Almost too pretty eat, Mawata!"

The girl blushed and took a seat on one of the couches in the farthest corner from the group. The blush darkened when Blaise loaded up a plate of food, grabbed a drink and sat next to her.

"Hey! Can I have one?" Mannen started to reach for a mojito. Kei slapped his hand and took the glass away. "NOT FAIR!"

"Not for children," Kei said, sitting next to Sete on another couch.

Mannen scowled but tooks his water and plate and joined Shin and Hajime at another couch. Hajime and Shin were battling with their skewers, Shin giggling as Hajime 'stabbed' him. The fight continued for a bit until Blaise yelled at them to stop it.

Hayate was sitting on the beach, watching the dark water roll in when Himeno went up to him, handing him a plate and a drink and sitting next to him. She was wearing a dark blue sweater of his that was much too big on her, but she loved it anyway. It was pretty much hers now anyway. "So, whatcha thinking about?" she asked, pushing the long sleeves back so they didn't drag in the food.

"Nothing. Just...stuff." The way he said it told her exactly what he was thinking about.

"Look, we can't do anything about the Queen of Nightmares yet. So, why not have a little fun for a change?"

Hayate looked at her, smiling gently. The wind pulled at his dark hair and he pushed a few pieces out of his face. "That wasn't the stuff I was thinking about," he said.

Blushing, Himeno smiled, tucking her knees up against her chest. She touched his cheek, heart skipping when he turned into her hand, brushing his lips across her wrist. "Well, it was something serious. No secrets, remember?"

That got him to laugh, but he still didn't tell her. She was about to press further when shouts broke out on the patio. Mainly, it was Yayoi screeching and crying at the same time and Blaise complaining loudly while trying to cover Shin's eyes as Feryn was bowled over the side of the sofa by the hysterical Yayoi. Neither one surfaced from the other side, which led to some hurried moving by Hajime and Mannen to the side where the other three were.

Kei and Sete were coming over to them, Sete carrying her heeled sandals and a bottle of champagne, Kei with four glasses. "It's getting too crazy up there," Kei called. It was obvious the two were a little drunk from the random giggles and slight stumbling in the sand.

"What happened?" Hayate asked, taking two glasses. He ducked as Kei fired the cork off into the water and poured out the champagne.

"Something bad," Sete answered, flopping down in the sand with an uncharacteristic lack of grace. She stretched her long legs out in front of her, burying her toes into the cold sand.

"Did that jerk break up with her?" Himeno demanded, getting ready to go beat the Frenchman into fuzzy pudding.

"Worse," Sete grimaced, taking a healthy drink of the alcohol.

"Feryn proposed to her," Kei explained. "If it was bad before..." He shook his head and followed Sete's example by chasing the awful thoughts with booze.

"He...He PROPOSED! YAYOI!" Himeno was up and running down the beach with her glass spilling all over.

"Hey, such a waste of good champagne," Kei shouted after her. He was drowned out by more shouting from the patio as Himeno and Yayoi hugged and screeched all at the same time. Sighing, Kei refilled his glass and Sete's, glancing over to find Hayate hadn't even touched his. "Hayate, something wrong?"

Blinking, he smiled and said, "No, nothing." He quickly tucked something back into his pocket.

Green eyes narrowed, Sete nudged him and said, "Let me see it."

"Huh?"

"What you have in your pocket. You've been toying with it since we got on the bus. So, let me see it."

Blushing a little, Hayate reached into his jean pocket and showed her.

Sete took it and smiled. "That's very pretty. Kei, darling, look."

Kei squinted and then took what she gave him, peering closer. "That's not a..."

"No, it's not," Hayate said. "It just looked like something she would like."

Smiling, the usual caustic Knight of Light handed it back to the Knight of Wind. "I think she's going to cry."

Laughing and tucking it back into his pocket, Hayate said, "That's sort of the point. But now with those two getting engaged..."

Sete rolled her eyes, pulling a rubber band off her wrist and pulling her waist length hair back into a messy bun. "The ring was disgusting! Seriously, the rock was bigger than Shin's head. The whole band was covered in diamonds, too. It looked heavy."

"You sound jealous," Hayate teased.

She choked on her champagne. "Of that? Hardly! If it weren't for the booze making me all fuzzy, I'd beat the shit out of you for that!"

"I'm not too drunk though, and I certainly don't mind," Kei added, leaning behind Sete to punch Hayate's arm.

Hayate swung back and there was soon a mock fight on the beach that ended in the rest of the champagne spilling over the beach. Sete and Kei mourned the loss loudly and Hayate had to make a run for it to keep from getting beaten for real.

Once everyone was back on the patio (Feryn and Yayoi had resurfaced by this time) there were a lot of jokes made at their expense and much exclaiming over the ring by Himeno. Even Sete managed a rather convincing smile and polite smile. Yayoi was beaming, tears still running down her cheeks. And Feryn...Feryn was almost in tears himself.

"A toast! A toast, a toast, a toast!" Blaise shouted, coming out of the house with more champagne and a container of apple juice for the younger ones. He and Kei worked the corks off while Mawata doled out the juice. Once everyone had a glass, the Englishman stood on the couch, using Mawata's shoulder for balance as he raised his glass. "To the most disgustingly in love couple ever! May you be happy and reproduce like rabbits!"

"Blaise, what the hell kind of toast was that?" Himeno shouted as the Knight of Flowers jumped down, grinning wickedly.

"The only kind yer gettin' outta me in my weakened condition, love! Cheers!" He tipped his glass back and had it done in a few sips.

"Then you must be in this weakened condition all the time, _mon ami_. It had all grace of your everyday speach," Feryn replied, but he was smiling still.

Blaise scowled and was about to make a rude gesture that was quickly intercepted by Mawata grabbing his arm. Shin was still sitting on the sofa near them, grinning and completely absorbed in his apple juice.

"Okay, a REAL toast this time," Kei announced. When everyone was silent, he said, "To Feryn and Yayoi for finding the happiness they truly deserve!" Everyone took a drink to that.

"Hear that, Blaise? THAT'S what a toast is supposed to sound like," Himeno joked.

"Aw, offended by me gutter speach? And here I thought it a right proper toast that I made!" he retorted.

"I liked it," Shin said, swinging his legs and giving them big innocent eyes. "Rabbits are nice!"

There were a couple sighs of relief that the youngster didn't fully catch what Blaise had said, and a couple snickers from Hajime and Mannen for the same reason.

They stayed out there until almost early morning. Shin had fallen asleep shortly after the toasts, Hajime and Mannen waking him up to go inside when they were too sleepy to really stay awake either. That left the older knights and the girls outside with the sky just beginning to turn pink. They all took up a couch a piece and had a bottle of champagne to themselves as well.

"How long were you planning this, Feryn?" Himeno asked.

Feryn smiled, eyes closed. Yayoi was lying next to him, facing his chest. Judging from the slow breathing, she'd fallen asleep, and he was close to it as well. "I have had the ring for almost three months now," he answered softly. "I was going to wait until the end of summer...but could not. The excitement got the better of me, so it was not as romantic as I had wished."

"I don't think she'd agree with that," Mawata said quietly. She and Blaise were on the couch diagonal from the engaged couple, heads at opposite ends. She was trying not to laugh as Blaise drew little faces on the bottom of her bare toes with a sharpie marker. She'd already done a fair job of tattooing his legs with another marker.

Feryn's smile grew a little and he sighed, running fingers through Yayoi's hair. "She would not."

"Well, I think it's great," Himeno said. Hayate was lying on his stomach with her on top, her head resting on his chest. "You two are perfect for each other."

"_Merci boucoupe, ma cherie._"

Sete was the only one sitting up. Kei had his head in her lap and she was idly playing with strands of his golden hair. "This is nice," Kei murmured, eyes closed.

"What?" Blaise asked, looking up from his art work. So far he had an angry face, a scared face, a happy face, a sad face and was working on a crazy face. His entire leg was covered over with random drawings and odd quotes. 'Sexy Leg Hair' was the most noticeable in the jumble.

"This, all of us just relaxing a bit. We should do this more often."

"Yeah, but who's gonna watch the kiddies?"

"We could all take turns," Sete suggested. "I think each night we should all go out together to the board walk. Two of us stay behind for the other three and we rotate out who stays and who goes. And each night, we do something different."

"That sounds fun," Mawata said. She stifled a giggle and barely managed to keep from squirming. Blaise was completely concentrated on making a big arrow on her heel.

"Yeah, good idea, Sete," Himeno added.

Yawning, she nodded and slapped Kei's cheek lightly. "Up. Come on, up! Now that I've spouted my genius idea, it's time for sleep."

Kei sat up grudgingly and stood with her. "The day you spout anything genius is the day I give up coffee." He caught the fist aimed for his gut, forcing the fingers open to twine with his.

Himeno stood up, too, and passed over the extra blanket to Feryn and Yayoi. "She's out and I know from sleepover experience she's not getting up."

"That is fine with me," came the sleepy reply.

Blaise and Mawata waved as Hayate and Himeno went inside. They had to wait for their artwork to dry completely before going to their rooms.

Once inside, they took turns using the bathroom to change and get ready for bed. Hayate, being the gentleman, let Himeno go first. Which left her lying in bed alone for a bit. It gave her a chance to think about what had just happened. Engaged. Yayoi was barely eighteen...and she was engaged. She was very happy for her friend, almost as ecstatic as the bride-to-be herself. But...that was young! Yayoi was only a little older than her. She couldn't imagine being engaged! Or could she...

Hayate. He was the one. She knew that already. Hayate was her other half, and she would do anything and everything possible for him. She shuddered, hugging the pillow to her. It smelled like clean cotton and fabric softener. Nothing familiar to it. She buried her hands under it, trying to hide them. She couldn't look at her hands, not after what had happened. Oh, it hadn't been her fault, she knew that. It was the fact that she'd been powerless to stop it...Jikan had almost been stronger than her love for Hayate.

The bathroom door opened, throwing light momentarily into the dim room before Hayate turned it off and slipped into the bed, rolling over onto his side and pulling her back against him. "Himeno?" he asked softly, not sure if she was sleeping or not.

The minute he said her name, the fear and doubt vanished and she smiled, turning over onto her stomach to meet his gaze. Those eyes...so incredibly blue and full of love for her. "Come here," she whispered, arm circling his neck.

Hayate did as she asked, kissing her slow and gentle. Nothing else, just the feel of his lips against hers, so light she almost thought she'd imagined it. Himeno sighed, pushing his shirt up so she could run her hands up his back, hold him closer. His lips touched each of her cheeks before trailing along her jaw and then her neck. No further. After Leafenia, they'd gone over the rules again and come up with a limit as to how far to go, no matter what. He was staying well within bounds, but she knew it wasn't without a great deal of effort on his part. The fact that Hayate didn't press the issue proved to her more than words that he really did care for her.

"H-Himeno?"

Hayate jerked back at the teary whisper, looking to the door. Shin stood there, halfway between the door and actually being inside the room. He was holding his favorite teddy bear and had tears running down his cheeks. "Shin, what's wrong?" Hayate asked.

"I-I had a...bad dream! Himeno was dead and it was scary! Can I sleep with you?"

Hayate met Himeno's eyes and shrugged. Himeno turned back to Shin and smiled. "Come on, sprout." Hayate moved over a bit and Himeno held her arms out as Shin ran for the bed and jumped in, hugging her tightly. He was shaking so bad! "It's okay, Shin, I'm here and I'm not leaving you ever!"

"Okay...it was really bad, Himeno," Shin cried, sniffling against her shoulder. He reached a hand out instinctively for Hayate. Himeno rolled over with him so the Knight of Plants was sandwiched in the middle.

He calmed down after a few minutes and was soon asleep. Hayate's arm was draped over Shin, his hand on Himeno's waist. Their eyes met, both barely awake. Neither of them needed to say it, they could already tell what the other was going to say. Sighing, Himeno closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Blaise looked up over his bowl of cereal when he heard someone enter the kitchen. He relaxed when he saw it was a very sleepy Hayate. Hayate went straight to the coffee pot and poured a cup, adding a little milk, and got some leftover fruit from the night before out for breakfast.

"You look like shit, mate," Blaise said around a bite of Coco Puffs.

"Shin had a nightmare," Hayate said. The tone to the words got Blaise's attention full out.

There was a very quick shift of expression over Blaise's face. Gone was the amused joker and in was a more serious...and very worried...young man. "Oh?"

"And Himeno's been having them a lot recently."

Sighing, Blaise nodded grimly. "I expected this. No worries, though. Shimura won't learn anything from me."

"I'm concerned for you, though," Hayate said softly. There was a tightness to his jaw that said he wasn't going to let the issue drop very easily.

"I'm safer here than at the Palace, Hayate," he said firmly. There was a hardness to his brown eyes that none of the others ever saw. None but Hayate. "We talked about this already, when it all first started sixteen years ago. It was agreed things were better like this."

"Sir, I-," The glare he was given kept Hayate silent.

Blaise glanced at the back door when he saw movement and smiled. Mawata was coming back from her morning run. "Besides, I have a very good reason to stay." Just as quickly as the switch happened, his face resumed the amused expression it always wore. Mawata came in, breathing hard and rubbing her hands.

"Oh, good morning," she said softly, getting a tea kettle down and filling it with water. "Did you both sleep well?"

Blaise smiled pleasantly and said, "Well enough, seein' as me mind was full of that music of yours. Bloody wonderful stuff, that was!"

Hayate stood and left, leaving his coffee and breakfast at the table.

Mawata stared after him a moment, surprised at the abrupt departure. "What's wrong with him?" She sat down next to Blaise, arranging her tea cup in the table. If she had glanced up at that time, she would have caught a shadow of the serious expression from before.

"Nothing. He just didn't sleep last night," Blaise answered.


	3. TempestA Powerful Storm Or Event

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ack! Technical difficulties on my end kept me from posting this chapter sooner. And I had to retype it because part of the technical difficulties was my computer deciding NOT to save it when I was done. GRR! Anyway, here you go, sorry it took so long and enjoy!

* * *

CHAPTER3 : Tempest- A Powerful Storm Or Event

"Himeno, hurry up!"

Himeno scowled at the door that Sete was shouting through. Hayate was sprawled out on the bed, dressed up in dark jeans and a pale blue dress shirt that was untucked and fit him VERY nicely. And...the jerk's eyes were closed! "Hayate, you better not be asleep!"

No answer came from the bed. Not even a twitch of fingers to show he was conscious.

"Hayate!" Himeno rolled her eyes and jammed her feet into the strappy heels Mawata was letting her borrow. She wobbled a bit, steadying herself on the wall. She didn't mind heels...just not heels that were THIS big! No need to stand on tiptoe to kiss Hayate tonight. Speaking of which...Himeno walked across the carpet to the bed, standing where Hayate's legs hung over the side, hands on her hips. "Hey, ya big goof! Get up!"

Still no sign of any life, intelligent or otherwise. Scowling fiercer, Himeno nudged his leg with one foot. And almost fell over. "Yeeahhh! Whew, that was close! Hayate, are you gonna get up now or what?" Damn, she knew the guy slept like a log, but this was ridiculous! She glanced back at his face...and her eyes narrowed. Was that a smile? The bastard was faking! Smiling to herself, Himeno said, "Fine, sleep, I don't care. I'm just gonna go out in my cute little skirt and-,"

"What? You, in a skirt?" Hayate sat up, more in shock that she said she was in a skirt than to actually check her out in it.

Himeno grinned and poked him in the chest. "Pervert, I knew that would get your attention!"

"You liar! You're not wearing a skirt." He looked almost disappointed.

She pushed his legs further apart until she was standing between them, staring down into his eyes. She leaned forward, watching as his eyes began to close, expecting a kiss. Her lips were just above his when she said, "You dork, when do I ever wear skirts outside of school?"

Hayate shoved her back, only to catch her again when she began to fall. "Himeno, are you alright?"

"Yeah...just hating these shoes already." She grimaced and looked down at the bright red evil-things in question. "Why did Blaise have to pick a dance club tonight?"

"Because he won the draw and got to pick first. Come on, let's get going."

"That's what I said fifteen minutes ago," Sete shouted from the other side of their door.

Himeno jumped and stomped over to the door, throwing it open to find Sete sitting on the floor across from them, long dark hair brushed to a high shine and hanging straight down her back. "You were there the whole time!"

Sete stood up, stretching her arms over her head. The dark silver tank top rode up to expose her flat stomach, the black pants low enough to show her belly piercing, which made both Himeno and Hayate wince. The little silver quarter moon winked back at them from her navel. "Yep, and getting ready to break the door down and drag you two out. Everyone else is downstairs waiting."

Sure enough, the rest of their group was waiting for them at the bottom of the steps by the front door. Feryn and Yayoi were staying at the house that night to watch the younger three.

Blaise, his red and white hair covered with what he called a 'pimp hat', was tapping his foot impatiently. "Sweet Jaysus, you two to yer bloody time!"

They ignored the Knight of Flowers, Hayate turning to Kei to say, "Is Feryn set with instructions and stuff?"

Kei rolled his eyes. "Yes, he is, for the millionth time! I gave them Mawata's cell phone number in case they can't summon one of us. They're in the game room playing Candy Land right now." Candy Land was Hajime's favorite game.

"Sounds fun," Himeno said. Maybe if she said that...

Laughing, Blaise wiggled his eyebrows. "Not as much fun as Tempest, I'm sure."

Tempest was the name of the club they were going to. Kei had researched it online and discovered that it was the most popular club on the boardwalk, and the only one with a permit to remain open until four in the morning. There was only one small problem..."Hey, Blaise?" Kei asked.

"Yep?" Blaise paused with the door open and holding it for Mawata.

"How are you expecting to get these two in?" 'These two' as in Mawata and Himeno.

Blaise snapped his fingers as if suddenly remembering that same thing. "Right, almost forgot!" Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out his wallet, and pulled out two small cards, handing one to Mawata (who looked at it and almost choked in amusement) and the other to Himeno.

Himeno squinted and looked at hers more closely. "A fake id? And I'm twenty-SEVEN? Blaise!"

"Hey, it's the best me man could do in three days notice! Looks just like you, she does."

"But...I don't know about this."

Shrugging, Blaise said, "You don't have to use it if you don't wanna. But this place is supposed to be bloody brilliant, I tell you. Three floors, a huge deck, beach property in the back for volleyball and the sorts. Not to mention...I've got it on good authority the Black Eyed Peas are gonna be makin' an appearance tonight."

Even Sete's eyebrows went up at that. "Really? If this turns out to be a load of crap, Blaise..." She left the threat unfinished.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, the same ol' threats. Yer gonna wear me guts for garters or somethin' of the kind, right? Fine, if I'm wrong I'll personally start the cuttin' meself. So, ladies, still not sure?"

Mawata and Himeno exchanged looks and slow smiles that soon turned to grins broke out across their faces. They tucked the ids into their wallets without another word.

"Right, let's get movin'. Oi, bye Frenchie! Bye, poppets! Bye Yayoi, and sorry but I can't marry a taken lady!"

As they shut the door, Himeno smiled when she heard Feryn's muttered, "What is that crazed man talking about?" before she took the hand Hayate held out for her and walked (sort of) with the rest of their group to the club.

When they got to Tempest, the bouncer looked at their ids, squinted a little at Himeno's, took the cover charge (which Kei argued was way too high) and let them in. This was after they'd stood in line for almost a half an hour to begin with. As they kept getting closer and closer, the bass levels rose higher and higher until they could feel it throbbing in the pavement. Blaise was all kinds of excited about it, going on and on about the dj battles Tempest supposedly hosted and other such things with Mawata. They passed through the doors, and even Blaise had to blink a little before continuing. The noise difference to being outside and actually going in to the club was insane. One minute Himeno could hear the pulsing bass throb in the air, and the next, it was all she could hear and feel. Flashing lights, people all crammed into a small room. A typical dance club.

Blaise hollered something and was pointing in the vague direction of the bar, taking Mawata's upper arm and guiding her through the mad press. Kei and Sete exchanged wry looks and were talking close to each other over the loud music.

Himeno turned a little when Hayate tapped her shoulder. She shivered when his lips brushed against her ear and he said, "Where the hell did Blaise run off to?"

"Um...no idea," she answered. She used the close proximity to place a quick kiss to his cheek, which he answered by wrapping one arm around her waist and hugging her. He didn't release her, though, and she didn't complain in the least. In a place as crowded as this, keeping close was necessary, right?

Kei and Sete came up to them, Sete glaring at any man who so much as looked ready try and squeeze up against her. Kei and Hayate exchanged a few quick words and then the first two began to weave their way onto the dance floor. Hayate leaned in again and sort of half-shouted, "There are some chairs over there if you want to sit down. Or, we can dance if you feel up to it in your Barbie heels."

Himeno jammed her elbow back playfully. "Hey, these heels can easily find their way in your ass, you know!"

"What?"

She shook her head. It was too much trouble really to try and repeat it. Taking a deep breath, she held on to his hand for dear life and stepped onto the crowded dance floor. No surprise Sete was dancing beautifully to the crazy remix music. Her slim body twisted in ways that made even Himeno stare. It was surprising, though, that Kei was dancing just as well. He had taught (or, rather, tried to teach) her ballroom dancing before summer started, but ballroom was a far cry from what they were doing now. And they were making it very obvious to any guys watching that Sete was off the menu.

Himeno and Hayate stood facing each other a little awkwardly. Neither of them felt very comfortable here. It wasn't that the place wasn't fun, but it was a different type of fun than what they liked. Waitresses moved around the edge of the floor, passing out long tubed drinks that people were downing like it was water. Both of them declined when one came up to them. She shrugged and continued on her circuit.

"Oi, love, this is a dance club, not a garden statue convention. Move yer hips!"

Himeno jumped and yelped at the warm breath by her ear and feel of someone's hands on her hips. Hayate had to grab her wrist to keep her from punching Blaise out of instinct.

Blaise and Mawata were standing behind them, grinning. Making a motion with his hand, he led the way over to Kei and Sete. Once their group was back together, Himeno didn't feel so stupid dancing. Mawata wasn't very good either (she knew how to dance ballet and that was it). She took small comfort in the fact she was finally better at something than her perfect step-sister. Blaise was taking it upon himself to try and get Mawata to dance better, and naturally it required a lot of body and hands touching, much to Himeno's delight. She was kind of hoping they might hit it off on the trip.

The music sped up faster and the crowd of people got more intense, forcing them closer together. Kei managed to snag some of those drinks, handing them out to himself, Sete and Blaise. Hayate again passed on it. He almost never drank anyway. Blaise shared a sip of his with Mawata, who nodded to tell him she liked it, and he grabbed two more for them. The bass was heavier on this song, driving its way into Himeno's chest like a sledge hammer. And it was getting really hot in there. Still, it was fun anyway, even with Blaise making fun of her for stepping all over Hayate's feet (she secretly thought Hayate looked gorgeous dancing), Kei and Sete arguing over the music, and Mawata trying very awkwardly to relax her perfect posture and move more freely. And to think she almost offered to stay home and miss this!

* * *

Feryn opened the microwave and pulled out the popcorn, shaking it before opening the bag and dumping it all into a big bowl. Yayoi had just taken drinks out into the game room for their third round of Candyland. He would never admit it out loud, but he was actually enjoying himself very much. His parents had been very strict when he was growing up, so he had never experienced board games before. And for some reason Yayoi was taking great pleasure in teaching him. He smiled when he thought of the time she had tried to teach him Uno. He still didn't fully grasp it, but _c'est la vie_. Stealing a few quick pieces of popcorn, he went back into the game room and found they had already started without him.

"Hi, sorry, Hajime was getting antsy," Yayoi explained, making room for him to sit next to her. She adjusted her glasses, took a handful of popcorn, and sent it down to Mannen.

"Here, Feryn, your turn," Hajime said, sitting back against the sofa and munching on food.

Feryn drew a color card and moved his piece there. "After this game, can we play something else?" he asked.

"Ooo, Trouble! Let's play Trouble," Yayoi said excitedly.

"Yeah! That game's fun," Mannen added, drawing a card and moving.

Shin got to his feet and ran suddenly from the room. It was his turn.

"Where did he go?" Feryn asked.

"Oh, probably to get his teddy bear," Hajime said absently. His tongue was sticking out of his mouth and he was concentrating hard on snapping a corn kernel across the room.

"No, he's doing something for Hayate," Yayoi explained. "He won't say what it is, but I bet it's terribly romantic! I bet anything it's a surprise for Himeno and he'll whisk her away into the moonlight on the beach and give it to her. Oh, Feryn, won't that be wonderful?"

Feryn smiled and kissed her. He adored how strongly she believed in the power of love. "_Oui, ma fleur, c'est tres romantique_."

Yayoi blushed as red as if he had truly said something shocking. She had told him once that hearing him speak French was like rolling around on a poem and feeling the words absorb into her skin. He still did not fully understand what she meant by it, but the look of absolute rapture on her face was worth it. It did not matter what he said, so long as the accent was heavy and the tone was soft. Though, now that she was learning French at an alarmingly fast pace, it made it impossible to slip in silly comments about cheese or foot fungus.

"Ew...they're getting mushy again," Hajime whispered to Mannen.

"Yeah, I know! Quick, sneak a turn!"

"It is still Shin's turn, I believe," Feryn said without once taking his eyes off of Yayoi.

"Crap, he heard," Mannen muttered.

A high pitched scream echoed through the house followed by footsteps pounding down the stairs. Shin came running into the room, eyes wide and tear filled. "It's there, it's there! Hajime, it's real!"

Hajime almost choked on his popcorn. "No way! I thought you said it was a dream!"

"It was, but now it's not and it's angry! I'm scared!" He began to cry, rubbing his eyes. Yayoi went over to him and hugged him, rubbing his back to calm him down.

Frowning, Feryn turned to a wide-eyed Hajime. "Explain what is going on," he ordered sharply.

Glancing quickly at Shin, Hajime swallowed heavily and said, "Well, two nights ago, Shin had a nightmare about a scary black dog with red eyes. And he didn't tell anyone about it until today."

"And?"

"And? That's it!"

Feryn's brow drew together. What did all this mean? "Perhaps it was your imagination, Shin. The mind...it does strange things when you are scared, _non_? Maybe-,"

"No, it WAS there! I just SAW it! It was just like my dream," Shin insisted.

"You should have told someone right away, dummy, that way it wouldn't come true," Mannen exclaimed.

"I still do not understand what is going on. Why should he have told someone about a silly dream?"

"If you have a dream and you don't tell someone about it, the dream comes true. It's a superstition," Yayoi explained, still trying to calm Shin down.

Laughing, Feryn shook out his blonde waves. "This is such nonsense! It is only a story, _mon petit dauphin_, nothing more." Shin looked up at his nickname (The Little Prince, which was his favorite story) but the usual smile did not accompany that look.

"He's shaking, Feryn. Should I call-,"

**_THUD!_**

Everyone froze at the loud sound. Shin whimpered and buried his head in Yayoi's chest. Hajime looked almost panicked and Mannen jumped to his feet. The noise had come upstairs, from the bedrooms. It sounded almost like-

**_THUD!_**

-Like someone was trying to break through a door. Feryn stood slowly, heart pounding and listening. Was that...it sounded like snarling. A dog snarling in the house! "Yayoi, go out the back door with Mannen and the others. Call Mawata and do not, no matter what, come back inside until I call for you."

"But, Feryn-"

**_THUD!_**

"Go, now!"

Yayoi gave him one last panicked look and then picked Shin up, following Hajime and Mannen out the back door.

Taking a deep breath, Feryn started gathering leafe to him and began the walk upstairs. Lightening crackled a little in the air around him. The thudding got louder and more insistant, and he was certain of the growling noise, the scrabbling of nails against wood. Could it possible be...no! He was being silly, it was only a dream. The lightening surged against the walls of the hallway, responding to his growing anger at whoever would dare break into their house. "Whoever you are, you have until I count to _trois_ and then you will wish you never set foot in this house," he threatened.

**_THUD, THUD! CRACK!_**

The door was beginning to splinter! "_Une_"

**_CRACK! SNAP! THUD!_**

"_Deuxe"_

The hinges to the door bent and the broke away, sending the door into the ground. And stepping over the threshold was a hulking shadowy shape that paced out on paws bigger that Feryn's face. The whole thing was the size of a pony, with flashing white teeth and eyes glowing a dull crimson. Saliva hung from it's jaws in glistening strands, the thin tail ending in sharp spikes swishing angrily behind it.

"_Mon Dieu_...a hellhound," Feryn whispered moments before the hellhound charged. Feryn flooded the hallway with lightening, sending it racing at the hellhound.

The hellhound barked, jaws snapping as it ran him down, bowling him over and down the stairs. Feryn screamed as the teeth closed around his arm, breaking the bone and ripping through flesh. Blood splashed down into his eyes as he fought to keep that fearful mouth from coming down further. Gritting his teeth, he managed to get his free palm up against the hellhound's chest and sent a blast of lightening into it.

It howled and let go of his arm, hitting the front door and sliding down onto it's feet again, shaking it's head. Feryn got to his feet, arm burning in pain. He had to keep it here, keep it in the house until the other's-

"Feryn?" Yayoi rounded the corner hesitantly. And froze dead in her tracks when those crimson eyes whirled on her, a low growl trickling from it's clenched jaw.

"YAYOI!" Feryn ran and grabbed her arm, yanking her out of harm's way in the nick of time. Unfortunately, his momentum carried them right through the window in the dining room and outside. Exactly where he didn't want the hellhound to follow. Why did she come back inside the house?

Yayoi moaned, pushing herself up weakly. Her glasses had fallen off and a shard of window glass had cut her cheek open, but it was Feryn who had taken the most damage from the trip through the window. "Feryn? What...?"

"Run, Yayoi, and do not look back." Feryn stood up, putting himself between Yayoi and the shadow filling the window.

"What about you?" she asked desperately.

"LEAVE NOW!"

She backed away, slowly at first, and then ran into the night. He watched her go until the shadows swallowed her up.

Feryn turned back to the snarling dog before him and prayed that the others would arrive very quickly.

* * *

Himeno stopped dancing, clutching her stomach. Her head...the room was spinning...the lights...it was so hot...

"Himeno?" Hayate shouted into her ear, holding her up.

"D-Demon...larva," she whispered, even thought she knew he wouldn't hear her. No, it wasn't demon larva. It was something else, something darker and far more powerful. What was it? "We need to leave. We need to leave now!" The lights were spinning wildly, making her stomach churn like she was going to be sick. And it was so hot in here!

Hayate caught her as she began to fall, the lights and the heat finally overcoming her. And that sharp pain, too! As she fell, faces of the people on the dance floor whirled and mingled. She saw Blaise and Mawata laughing, unaware of what was happening, saw Sete nudge Kei, and Kei turning to them, almost like it was slow motion. And there...in the background...what...? No, it couldn't be...

"Goh." The last thing Himeno saw were those familiar brown eyes winking with laughter.


	4. Bad Dogs And Bad Guys

CHAPTER 4: Bad Dogs And Bad Guys

Mannen skidded to a hault not far from the house, hands making tight fists. He was sick of running! He was a Leafe Knight, NOT a babysitter! And part of the oathes they took were to protect and help each other. "Hey, Hajime, you go ahead with Shin and Yayoi. Get 'em down to the beach or somethin', okay?"

Hajime's eyes narrowed, but he nodded anyway. Just like Mannen knew he would. "Okay, 'cept Yayoi went back inside!"

"Huh! I thought you two were watchin' her! Man, Feryn's gonna kill us!"

"I don't want to go back there," Shin whimpered, clutching his hands in front of himself.

Mannen looked back at the house. Well, he was going back in anyway, wasn't he? And rescuing girls was something all the knights did in the movies. "Okay, you two go down to the beach and summon Hayate and Kei. I'm goin' back in to help Feryn and Yayoi!"

"Be careful, Mannen! That dog looked like it had rabies or somethin', " Hajime cautioned.

Waving his hand airily, Mannen said, "What's a crazed Pound Puppy to the Knight of Ice? I'll just freeze him up and that'll be that!"

Hajime nodded and ran with Shin further into the darkness.

Mannen went back through the kitchen door as quietly as he could, staying close to the shadows. He could hear thunder shaking the house, knocking pictures off the wall, which meant Feryn was using his leafe. A burst of bluish lightening from the front doors illuminated Yayoi getting closer to the fight. As well as the big scary dog that had a hold of Feryn's arm. There was another burst of lightening as Feryn attacked the dog-thing, flinging it from him.

"Feryn?" Yayoi asked.

"YAYOI!" Mannen ran to try and grab her but Feryn beat him to it, pulling her against his chest and sending them both through the window. The dog whipped around, spiked tail flicking behind it angrily. No, it was gonna attack them! Mannen ran into the foyer, heart pounding and mind racing about what to do. Now that he was hear...what did he do? Okay, Hayate always said to analyze the situation before running in...oh, too late for that. Okay, next step, choose either defensive or offensive. Um...Offensive! Yeah! Okay...so how did he do that? Hey, that was a great plan...

"Hey, ugly mutt! Turn around!" Mannen smiled, pleased with his plan of distracting the dog.

Until it turned glowing red eyes on him, snarling. It's long white teeth were glistening with a mixture of blood and drool. Slowly, it turned around, nails clicking on the wood floors. Uh-oh...Suddenly his plan wasn't so great anymore. The dog barked fiercely and made a run for him.

Mannen swallowed heavily and flew into the air, barely missing the snapping jaws. He turned around and fired ice darts at it. Only to discover it had disappeared. "What the hell?" He stayed where he was, looking around. It couln't have vanished...could it? Maybe it wasn't really a dog. Maybe it was something else...

"MANNEN! Move _a droit!_"

"Huh?" What the hell did ah-dwoah mean?

Feryn was motioning frantically with his one good arm. "This way, this way! Move, Mannen!"

"Oh, left! Wait, who's left, yours or mine?" Mannen never found out. All he had was a thin snarl and a drop of drool on his shoulder to warn him. He looked up...

And the freaky dog was on the ceiling, staring right down at him!

"Aw, crap," he yelled as the thing released it's claws from the ceiling, twisting midair to land on him, teeth wide and ready to rip him to pieces.

* * *

_"Goh, NOOO! Don't do it, Goh!"_

_Goh turned with a small smile. The flames were surrounding him, eating at his skin, turning it black and peeling. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, seeming to cling to her nose and throat. It was all she could do not to vomit. "Hey, someone has to play the hero. And it's obvious YOU'RE not gonna do it!"_

_Wait...this wasn't how it had happened...was it? No, Goh didn't say those awful words. Or did he?_

_**Himeno...Himeno, wake up, please!**_

_Goh screamed, back arching in agony as the flames engulfed him._

_"NONONONONO! GOOOOH!" She turned away from the rushing fire, feeling the heat lick at her arms._

_**HIMENO! WAKE UP!**_

Himeno gasped, eyes flying open. She was...on the floor. And still at Tempest. "Did you see him?" She stood up quickly, which was a mistake, she realized, when her head swam and she fell back into Hayate's arms again. He held her to him, not letting her move away.

"See who?" Hayate demanded. A quick nod and Kei and Blaise were suddenly on alert, scanning the staring faces for anything unusual.

"Goh! I saw him, right over there! He didn't die, Hayate!"

Hayate just stared at her, face completey void of any emotion except concern for her. "Himeno...There's no way he could have survived. We all saw it happen."

Himeno blinked, her mind tumbling in a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts and emotions. But...she could have sworn...No, Hayate was right. Goh was dead. She'd been there, she'd seen it. And he hadn't said that at all. She had to focus, there was something important..."OH! We have to go back to the house, something's wrong!"

Mawata pulled out her cell phone, frowning as she saw the number that just rang in. And the three knights, as well as Sete, all turned in the same direction as if listening to something. "It's Hajime," Kei said softly.

"Come on!" Hayate cleared a path through the on-lookers, pushing for the door of the club. Once outside, they found a nice empty alley between buildings and flew back to the house, Blaise holding onto Mawata and Hayate holding on to Himeno.

It didn't take long for them to see something was seriously wrong. Sete spotted Yayoi running around on the ground, tripping anf falling over objects she should have been able to see clearly. "I've got her, you guys go ahead," she called, swerving lower to the ground to save a frightened Yayoi.

"Oi, that's Hajime's work, or I'm a pretty girl," Blaise called. He was refering to the spiraling column of water rising from down on the beach. "Comin', poppets!" He and Mawata disappeared into the shadows for the beach. Which left Kei, Hayate and Himeno to deal with what was just outside the front door.

"Is that a...a dog?" Himeno asked. It was the scariest dog she'd ever seen, that was for sure! She could see the flaming red eyes even from up here.

"It's a hellhound, a creature from the Mountains of Shadow," Kei answered. "It shouldn't be capable of crossing over into this world, though!"

"We'll figure that out later. Right now, stopping that thing is our priority," Hayate shouted back. He turned sharply, preparing for a quick landing.

As soon as they hit the ground, Hayate practically shoved Himeno into Kei's arms. "It has to be Kei. The hellhounds are creatures of shadow. You need the leafe of Light to destroy it!"

Himeno nodded and took Kei's hand. The familiar feeling of preting with one of the knights came over her. Kei always made her skin feel warm, like the sun was shining from inside her. Everything had a faint golden glow to it, except for the shadows. Those became deeper and darker, as if she could see the different layers of dark light. She turned to the hellhound, eyes narrowed. Like this, she could see it wasn't really a dog at all. It was heavily condensed shadows, forced into a dog's shape. It was nothing but air. So how was it able to inflict damage?

"It's very real, Himeno, don't let it fool you," Kei said in her head. "Hellhounds have one weak spot, and that's inside it's mouth where the shadows open for it to swallow leafe. You need to hit it directly in the mouth for it to be destroyed."

"Okay, got it. Um...how am I supposed to get it's mouth open?" she asked.

She had her answer when several deep slashes of wind went racing by her, followed closely by Hayate himself. The hellhound dove for him, jaws snapping closed just short of his foot. Hayate snatched something off the ground and flew a short distance with it. It took Himeno a second to recognize the blood soaked figure as Feryn's. Oh, no!

"Stay focused," Kei snapped. "I sure as hell don't want to end up like that! Look, Hayate's already given you four openings, and you've missed all of them."

Himeno fought back to guilty feeling of letting Kei down like that and watched Hayate's moves with all her attention. He dove in, attacked, then was quick to get out of range of the claws and teeth gnashing and slashing at him. Anotehr figure came to join him, vines of flowers weaving around it. Blaise! Blaise dodged, rolled and twisted faster than even Hayate, flinging strong vines as he went, strapping the hellhound to the ground. But for each vine he threw, the hellhound snapped two. It was an impressive, but losing battle.

"Hey, Hayate, I think this calls for somethin' a bit stronger," Blaise shouted.

Hayate couldn't respond, he was too busy throwing everything he had at the dog, trying to hit it or make it's jaws open wide enough for Himeno to have a clear shot.

"Himeno, get ready for it," Kei warned.

Himeno felt Kei pulling on a great deal of leafe, storing it inside her for her to use. She waited, watching anxiously as the hellhound snarled, growled and lashed it's tail at the knights.

There was a loud grumbling noise, and Himeno followed it, watching as the earth shifted and moved in a giant wave that slammed into the hellhound, throwing it into the air. What...where did that come from?

"Himeno, now!"

Himeno turned back and shot the light bolts directly into the hellhound's gaping mouth. It howled louder before the light expanded inside it, pushing at it's sides. It exploded outward, the body fading into the shadows until only the eyes remained. They faded last, leaving a blazing imprint in the night. She landed and unpreted with Kei, running over to Feryn's unmoving body. "Feryn! Feryn, say something!" She fell to her knees, taking his blood covered hand in her own. Please, not another one...

Feryn's blue eyes opened weakly and he managed a rather pervy smile. "_Ma cherie_, I do not think my fiancee will like you groping me in such a way."

Scowling, she threw his hand down. "You creep!"

"Himeno! Oh, thank goodness, you're alright!" Sete was helping Yayoi walk back up. Yayoi's glasses were missing somewhere in the ruin of the front window. And Himeno was very glad her friend couldn't see the condition Feryn was in. She hugged her while Sete made a face and went over to Feryn.

"Lordy, you're really trying to make me earn my keep around here, aren't you?" she said dryly, eyes surveying the injuries. She shook her head, pushing her long hair back. "I don't even know where to start!"

Feryn held up his mangled arm. Himeno gasped when she saw the deep bite marks circling it. "Perhaps here," he suggested.

"Yeah, but your face...If the blood dries up before I can heal it, you're going to be scarred." Everyone knew how incredibly vain Feryn could be.

"What? Is Feryn hurt?" Yayoi gasped. She could see we enough to make out his shape on the ground and went to him. Her fingers touched his lips very gently and he stifled the pained hiss when she touched the enormous gash on his upper lip, the one that curved through that perfect mouth and up over his nose. "Oh my...Feryn!" She didn't need to see it to know the stickiness on her fingers was blood.

Feryn managed another smile. "You will not be so willing to touch me afterward, Yayoi. I am afraid my arm is more important at this time than my face."

Yayoi began to cry, and Himeno was a little startled. Crying because Feryn was going to have a scarred face? She never knew yayoi would..."I don't CARE! You got hurt saving me, and that's the most beautiful thing in the world to me!"

Utter relief flooded his face, little trickles of tears coming from his eyes to mix with the drying blood on his face. Sete fixed his arm and was working on what she could of his face. And judging from how incredibly sad she looked, there wasn't much for her to do. Sighing, she sat back, the green light fading. "I did what I could. The rest of this is going to have to heal naturally. I'm sorry."

Yayoi took her hand as she stood to leave. "Thank you. You did enough."

Sete smiled awkwardly and looked away. "Yeah, well, I better go see if I'm needed elsewhere."

Kei hesitated a second before following her with some excuse of 'her needing my help'. Mawata came back up the beach carrying Shin. Hajime was holding her hand tightly. Which left...

"Where's Mannen?" Himeno asked.

"Inside," Feryn said, this time not checking the little pained sound as Yayoi helped him to his feet. "The hellhound was going to attack him. I managed to stem the attack and push him to safety. Where he is now, I cannot say."

Himeno ran toward the house, stepping through the broken front door. Mannen...if he was hurt...No, stop thinking like that!

Blaise and Hayate turned sharply, ready for another attack. They both relaxed the minute they saw it was her. "Bloody hell, woman! Ye gave me a damn heart attack, you did," Blaise said, clutching his chest dramatically.

"Sorry, but Mannen's supposed to be in here," she explained. She looked around the area for some sign the Knight of Ice was still alive.

"I'm here. Is it safe?" Mannen crawled out from behind one of the air hockey tables. His eyes were wide and there were flecks of red in his white hair. Blood.

"It's gone," Hayate said. "Are you hurt?"

Mannen shook his head, lips set in a thin line. He was still in shock. "Feryn, did he..."

"He's alive. Sete's taking care of him. Now, explain to me what you were doing inside the house and not with Shin and Hajime?" Hayate crossed his arms over his chest, fixing a stern glare on Mannen's downturned head.

"I...I'm a knight, too," Mannen said fiercely, meeting Hayate's glare with one of his own.

Hayate blinked, caught off guard by the statement. "You're the Knight of Ice. What's that got to do with-,"

"You act like I'm a babysitter!" Mannen shouted. "Another knight was in trouble! I took an oath, too, y'know! Protect the others! That's what I was tryin' to do!" He was breathing hard, hands fisted and stance challenging.

Hayate wasn't at all intimidated by this little display. "And why do you think I keep having you watch Hajime and Shin? They're younger than you, less experienced. Protecting the others means watching out for the weaker ones. It's a huge responsibility, one that I thought you were ready for. Maybe I was wrong."

Mannen blinked, eyes going from boiling anger to surprise in a matter of seconds. "I never thought about it like that."

"The next time you feel like complaining about your duties, think a bit about why I assigned it to you." Hayate stalked off into the night angrily.

Himeno went over the Mannen when the young knight looked ready to cry. She hugged him, frowning when she realized he was now tall enough to hug comfortably. Mannen had gotten a lot taller since she'd first met him! "I didn't mean to make him mad, Himeno," he mumbled.

Another set of arms came around them, followed by the Blaise's voice. "He's not mad at you, Mannen. He's mad about Ol' Nasty we just sent back to hell. Nothin' personal, mate." He let them go and walked back outside. Hayate was issuing orders left and right.

Sighing, Himeno let Mannen go, smiling at him. "It's okay. He'll be back to normal once we get this all sorted out."

Scowling in Hayate's general direction, he said, "Yeah, great."

"MANNEN! Out here, NOW!"

"I'm comin', I'm comin'," Mannen grumbled, trudging out of the house with Himeno right behind him.

* * *

Two lone figures stood down the beach, watching as the White Pretear and her knights started repairing the damage. Both had very pale skin and long hair down to their waists, pulled back in loose braids. Their faces were the same, as were their black clothing (more uniform than actual clothing). But one had golden hair and golden eyes and the other had silver hair and silver eyes. That was the only difference between them.

The one with golden hair sighed, resting his hand on a long curved sword at his hip. "Well, Ginshima, it appears our Queen's pet failed."

Ginshima, the one with silver hair, snorted, a little quirk of lips suggesting a smile. "Was there ever a doubt, Kinshima?"

Kinshima also answered with a faint smile. "No, not really. But there's no telling her that."

"Quite true."

Both were silent for a long time, simply watching. Ginshima was the one to break the silence this time. "At least this Hayate will be a challenge to us."

"But the one called Blaise...he is supposed to be the Knight of Flowers?" Kinshima questioned.

"Your point, brother?"

"Why did he use an earth leafe in the attack?"

Both turned to look at each other thoughtfully, staring into the other's eyes as if reading minds. "The Queen should hear of this. Perhaps we have underestimated this Knight of Flowers," Ginshima said.

"Mm..possibly," Kinshima replied. He waved his hand, and where it moved, a great rip seemed to tear itself into the very air. The two brothers stepped through this rip and back into the Mountains of Shadow, sealing their exit behind them.


	5. A Look Into The Mind Of Evil

CHAPTER 5: A Look Into The Mind Of Evil

Shimura hummed and spun around, head back, staring into the dark vaulted ceiling in her castle. She was waist deep in freezing mountain lake water, which was fed from the river directly into the castle. Her white dress clung to her and floated as she spun like a pale shimmery cloud. Silvery light came from the surface of the water, making it look like a mirror.

And indeed it was a mirror. It was a mirror that would show her things. Dreams, thoughts, fantasies...and she would use it to turn them to nightmares. Just as the Princesses would devour and destroy leafe, she gained power through that which scared her victims the most. As they fell deeper and deeper into despair and fear, she would draw more and more of their life force from them until...they were empty. They were still alive, but just the husk of the human they once were. Thinking about the many, many victims of the past seventeen years made her smile and stop spinning, looking around the circular room's walls.

The walls were lined with all the shells of the human victims she'd drained. All of them were chained to the rock walls, heads down, eyes open and blank. All the different pretty shades...some blue, some green, but most were brown. She loved the green ones the most. When the soul left them completely, they looked like pretty green glass. Her collection contained every form of human possible. Man, woman, child...she even had a few Leafe Knights there. The one thing she didn't have was...

Was a Pretear. She smiled again, trailing her fingers through the icy water, disturbing the image floating there. Oh, she already knew her hellhound had failed. The broken windows in her throne room attested to that. She'd been so furious at the defeat that she'd forced four of her Dark Knights through the windows. If they managed to fly and save themselves before hitting the rocks, wonderful. If not...she knew there would be more. Even now, there were a few Leafe Knights looking to cross over. And she would welcome them with open arm.

She almost had a Pretear once. That little girl they'd found on search when she first made her move against the High Court of Leafenia. She had so much potential...so many happy dreams about the dark haired knight that could turn deliciously awful! But...Shimura sighed at the loss of such a pretty addition to her collection. And such amazing green eyes, too! The girl had turned into a Princess, and was lost to Shimura. She couldn't suck up any nightmares from someone who lived them every day. It just wasn't possible. But here was this new Pretear...the White Pretear...so full of hopes and dreams and good thoughts! And pain, lots and lots of pain. It was an easy thing, really, to pick out the painful memories and twist them into nightmares. It wouldn't be too long now before she was added to her collection.

Shimura smiled again and laughed, the sound echoing back on her in the darkness. Yes, the White Pretear would be the crowning jewel for her collection. She had a very special spot saved for her, had made the chains herself even. And when she did take the White Pretear, she had no doubts that the dark haired knight would come to her rescue. She wouldn't need to create a nightmare for him. He would witness his greatest fear first hand. She looked down into the pool again, watched as those horrible people went inside the house again, two knights patching up the damaged window and door. "Inside," she whispered to the image.

The image flashed inside the house so she could see them again. It took a very strong stomach not to wretch at all the love that was obvious in the room. How...vile! "No more!" The image faded away, leaving the water as clear and unbroken as the surface of a mirror. She began to make her way over to the shallow steps, lifting her water-soaked skirts up to move better. Her long silvery-blonde hair trailed on the surface of the water like pale snakes following in her wake.

The Twins stood at the door in their matching black leather armor. Ginshima and Kinshima, the Knights of Silver and Gold. They had come to her when they were only six, after the Princess of Disaster had wakened. That had been sixteen years ago. Their father had been the Knight of Plants, their mother a human woman. Their father had died in a fight, trying to save them. Their mother had died in a house fire started by human vandals, after she rushed back in to get them out. Love! It made people weak, made them do such stupid things as die for another. That was why the Twins served her now, They had seen upfront what love could do to a person. And it was this lack of love in themselves that made them such deadly assassins.

Ginshima, the younger twin, held a white towel out for her. "We did as you asked, Queen Shimura. We stayed until the end," he said.

"And? Was the experience rewarding for you? You've seen how your enemies can move," she answered sweetly. Her eyes dropped to his neck, eyebrow raised. "No offering for your queen?"

Ginshima turned his head a little, exposing his neck. She kissed the pulse lightly, drawing the leafe out of him a little. And...she felt light headed, giddy almost. She giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. Such a rush! No wonder it was almost impossible to turn back from being a Princess! She turned to Kinshima, who was already waiting for her. She did the same to him, taking the leafe the easiest way possible. She didn't need it to survive or anything. This was more to test the knights, see if they remained loyal to her. If they were willing to risk letting her absorb all their leafe, it meant they were hers. The few that pulled back were killed immediately.

She laughed again, twirling around. "My two beautiful knights! My most loyal and lovely knights! What do you have for you queen?"

"This Hayate is strong, Queen. VERY strong. We cannot underestimate him," Kinshima explained. "He very easily could offer you a challenge."

Shimura smiled, eyes warming at the thought of the dark haired knight. He was very pretty...he would look very nice on her wall. "Good. I truly hope he does. It's been almost sixteen years since anyone has been able to stand up to me." Ever since the War began...Kataru, the Topaz Prince. She couldn't remember his face, but he very nearly had destroyed her. She knew it had almost killed him in the process, but it had taken her a long time to fully recover. Her hand went to her belly, to the scars no one would see. Such awful scars...awful, horrid, twisted scars!

"My queen?" Kinshima asked softly. He offered a hand, not touching her, but it was there should she need it. The Twins were the only two Dark Knights to see her in all her moods. Even this weak one she was feeling right now.

"What have you learned about the others?" she asked, quickly changing the topic from herself and back to the War.

"Feryn, the Knight of Storms, has incredible powers, but he weakens quickly. His leafe uses a lot of his strength up. In an attack, all we have to do is survive the first few blows and then we have the advantage," Ginshima continued.

"The Knight of Water has great potential, but he is young. He cannot hold his leafe for very long," said Kinshima. "The young Knight of Plants...already you have said you want him. I agree. He did not use his leafe, but I have heard that he can already raise a containment field. And at such a young age." He shook his head. "Quite frankly, my Queen, if we do not obtain him, we need to kill him. He could be a potential threat in the very near future."

Shimura nodded. "Agreed, but not before we have tried to capture him. If it comes to killing though...bring me those eyes." She smiled, touching both their cheeks. "You know how I love green eyes."

"Yes, Queen," they both said.

"Now, continue with your report."

"Kei, the Knight of Light, is very dangerous to us. He's very strong, very focused and can raise enough leafe on his own without preting. If he prets, though...Let us just say that he and the White Pretear would destroy the Shadow Army easily."

Now, that was news! The Shadow Army she had been raising for almost sixteen years, the one filled with so many demons and evils that not even she would venture down without an armed escourt. All of them...destroyed by one knight and one Pretear? She had seen the Knight of Light once, thought him very attractive...but not to her taste. There was a sunshine quality to him that made her want to vomit again. "Your course of action?"

"Kill him, and do it soon," Kinshima said firmly.

Shimura laughed softly. "I like that. Now, the Knight of Ice?"

"He is of no real threat," Ginshima scoffed. "He uses his leafe well, but too rashly. Very quick to anger and act on it without thinking. However, he has a problem with authority. He might be swayed to join us."

"Then try what you can. And that leaves us the Knight of Flowers?"

The Twins exchanged looks, both silent. Shimura frowned. Why were they not answering her? She put a hand to the sword on her hip. "Well?"

"The Knight of Flowers...is not all that he seems," Ginshima began slowly.

"We saw him use a leafe power he should not have," Kinshima added.

Shimura took her hand from her sword. This was news...this was news indeed. "And what leafe power was this?"

"The one of earth, Queen Shimura. The Knight of Flowers used the leafe of earth."

She blinked, momentarily taken off guard. Earth...Her greatest enemy used earth against her. She hated the earth leafe! "And, what of it?"

The Twins looked at each other again. Kinshima was the one to answer her. "And...from what we could tell, Queen, this Blaise is equal in strength to Hayate. He is more dangerous than to us than we first thought."

"And what do you intend to do about it?"

"I will take Hayate," Ginshima said.

"And I will take Blaise," Kinshima added.

Shimura smiled, then laughed. "My two most favorite knights! Very well, but Ginshima, do try and keep Hayate alive. I want to see if those eyes are as amazing in person as they are through the mirror."

"I could always bring them back as well, my Queen," he offered.

"No, for this I want the head. I want to see the contrast between his dark hair and his blue eyes. Bring me his head, Ginshima."

He bowed low. "Of course, my queen. Anything for you."

Shimura kissed his cheek as he stood, smiling into those silvery eyes. "Your queen thanks you in advance. Now, finish your report so I might change and be about my business."

"The female Knight of Healing, Sete, is of no threat. Her leafe is defensive only, not offensive. She will be easy to destroy," Ginshima said.

"The White Pretear we do not need to tell you about," Kinshima said. "The friend, Yayoi, is of absolute no value to us. But she would be a good bargaining tool for not only the White Pretear but the Knight of Storms as well. They are in...love." He choked over the last word, making a disgusted face.

She wrinkled her nose, covering her hands with her ears. "Such a horrible word! If it were not for the fact that I value you both too much, I would remove your tongue for using it in my presence!"

"Forgive me, Queen Shimura. I did not mean to offend."

"The sister, Mawata, is very interesting though," Ginshima interupted, drawing Shimura's attention from his older brother and back to himself.

"Oh?"

"She has been used before by a dark presence. She still bears the mark of it on her, like a thin dark veil. But that is not all. She is a Potential."

Shimura's eyes went wide. A Potential? "It runs strong in that family...so THAT would explain why the Leafe Knights are so interested in her! She has the ability to one day become a Pretear. Kill her before that can happen. If her sister is the White Pretear, I can only imagine that she would have the ability, too."

"And she has attached herself to the Knight of Flowers. With her as a Pretear for his leafe, and Hayate with the White Pretear, we would not stand a chance," Kinshima said softly.

This was not good. She had been having such a good day until now! Sighing, she pushed the doors to her Mirror Room open and walked out, trailing water behind her. "So, the final plans are?"

"Destroy the Knight of Light and the Knight of Storms first. Capture the Knight of Plants, turn the Knight of Ice. Destroy all the others except for the Knight of Wind and the White Pretear."

Shimur smiled, hand sitting on her sword casually. "A very good start. One team down, three to go!"

"Three? My Queen, I do not mean to correct you, but there are five teams," Kinshima stated.

"No, four. I have aquired a captain and all his team, including the Pretear."

Both the knights looked shocked. "How...when?" Ginshima asked.

"About two days ago. A very nice young man, with amazing auburn hair. The Knight of Mimicry, Erelah, has promised himself and his team to me." She laughed, feeling much better as she thought about the shock on the Topaz Prince's face when he would learn of his precious knights' betrayal! "Tonight, I will bring them all nightmares," she whispered, more to herself than to her knights. "I will see what it is that makes them cry and scream. And then..." Her words trailed off into another peal of laughter.

* * *

Blaise knew Hayate was behind him. He didn't need to see his face to know he was concerned and angry. Smiling, he closed his eyes, letting the night breeze rush over him, bringing the salty smell of ocean, the crashing of waves. "I tell ya, mate, nothin' better than the beach under a full moon," he commented.

"We need to talk, as friends," Hayate said firmly.

"I mean, really, just close your eyes for a minute and smell that. Doesn't it make you wanna strip to yer skivies and dive in?"

"I'm serious! It's not safe for you here."

Sighing, Blaise finally consented to turning around and facing the Knight of Wind. "Look, mate, you agreed to this sixteen years ago, when it first started. You and Saeko both said-,"

"-I know what we said. And it's still good. But you're coming to the notice of the Queen of Nightmares by being here. If we just transfered you-,"

"Out of the question!" That same steel hard look came back to Blaise's eyes. No one was here other than Hayate, and Hayate had seen that look many times before. "If I leave now, it'll only raise further suspicion with the enemy. Also...I think there's a bloody spy at the court."

"It wouldn't surprise me in the least if there was." Hayate sighed, sitting down on the beach. Blaise sat next to him, feeling a little guilty about snapping at him like that. "I'm only looking out for your safety. That's always been my one concern with this. We can't risk losing you and having the truth discovered by the rest of the court. Do you know what kind of chaos that would cause, and what Shimura would do with it?"

"How long have you known Mawata was a Potential?" Blaise asked, changing the subject neatly. He didn't want to talk about this crap right here and now. He would much rather talk about Mawata. She made him smile just thinking about her.

"Since the Princess of Disaster incident. Sasame mentioned it to me afterward that he'd felt it when she'd touched her hand. But we already have a Pretear. We don't need another."

"I wasn't talking about for you, mate. You're right, you've got yerself a flippin' crazy-ass wench for a Pretear! And I think that's why she's so damn good at it, too. You know, she'd make a bloody good queen."

Hayate was watching him closely, and the look was not friendly in the least. "What are you saying exactly?" he asked, voice low and cold.

Blaise grinned and punched him in the shoulder, enjoying his little joke. "No worries there! I don't think there's another male, human or otherwise, that can handle her. You've got my respect and sympathies, mate. You're stuck with her for life!"

A momentary wash of relief flooded Hayate's features. "No offense, but you're an asshole!"

Laughing, Blaise nodded. "Yep, been called that many a-time in me life!"

"And you're not going to change the cubject that easily."

Damn. He'd thought talking about Himeno would work. Bloody focused bastard! Sighing, he said, "This plan has been set now for sixteen years. None of us can change it yet. If it gets around...Shimura will fall on Leafenia like a plague. Leafenia is safe right now because she doesn't know the truth. It keeps all the innocent people living there alive."

Hayate didn't say anything to this. He was so quiet in fact that Blaise turned to see if he was still awake. If he fell asleep during his big dramatic speach...But the Knight of Wind's eyes were open, staring at the waves. "I'll give in...for now," he said at last. "But if it starts to get too dangerous around here, I WILL be sending word to Saeko and send you back."

"Fair enough." Blaise stood up and started pulling off his shirt, kicking his shoes off as well. "So, ya comin' or not?"

"Huh?"

Grinning, he undid his jeans, adding them to the pile. "Swimmin' mate! What, you thought I was strippin' just to feel a cold breeze on me arse? Come on, it'll be just like when we were kids!"

A slow smile started on Hayate's face and grew until he was grinning as well. He stood up and pulled his clothing off until he was in boxers. "This is going to be so cold," he muttered.

"Yep. Nothin' like frost bite on yer naughty bits! Ready? One..." They were both judging the waves, watching the huge one rolling in.

"Two..."

"THREE!" They both went running into the water, swimming quickly out into the balckness.

As the huge wave crashed over them, sending the sailing back up onto the beach, Blaise smiled, keeping his mouth shut so the salt water wouldn't get in. Just like the old days, when things had been so much simpler. He remembered the Rainbow Lake, how his parents would take him and Hayate there and turn them loose. He hadn't met Hayate until after that duel, the one that had ended in Hayate losing his father. It was policy when the death of a Leafe Knight occured and there was a child that all the members of that team were to have a hand in raising the child up. His parents (his mother had been a White Lady, one of the women of the court in Leafenia) had been thrilled at the idea of raising their best friend's son. After that, Hayate and Blaise had been very closer, like brothers really. Until Hayate was promoted to captain and he... Well, he didn't want to think about all that crap right now. He was having fun!

Blaise was laughing, out breath and struggling to keep his boxers from falling down. His teeth were chattering so hard he almost bit his tongue as he spoke. "WOO! What a bloody brilliant rush! Did you see me, when it dipped low and I fell right down into another wave? Aw, man!"

Hayate was laughing too, shaking his hair out of his face. "I haven't done that in years!" He readjusted the clip in his hair, pulling it back tightly so that it didn't get in his face as much.

"You should just cut it, mate."

"No way! It looks good like this."

Blaise's smile turned wicked and he nudged Hayate. "You're just sayin' that cuz yer woman like it long!"

He looked away, smiling and turning red enough for Blaise to see it in the moonlight. "Maybe. Wanna go again?"

"Now who's changin' the subject?"


	6. Is This Real?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am soooo sorry this took so long to post! I've been having a very, very, VERY insane week! GRRRR! Anyway, here it is and as an added bonus...IT'S LONG! WEEE!

* * *

CHAPTER 6: Is This Real?

Himeno was awake when the door opened softly and Hayate slipped back in. She watched him move quietly to the bathroom, shutting the door before turning the light on. The shower ran and she sighed, rolling over to stare at the ceiling. All she wanted was to sleep...and not have those awful nightmares. After the fight with that hellhound, they'd all decided to make it an early night. Hayate had stayed up with Mawata,Hajime to clean up downstairs while Kei, Blaise and Sete boarded up the window. Mannen and Himeno took Shin upstairs to grab his pajamas and teddy bear before tucking him in to Mannen's bed with the Knight of Ice. Shin had insisted on sleeping in Mannen's room for the night, and once Hajime heard that, he moved in as well. It had shaken the younger two very much to see a nightmare practically come to life.

It had definately been enough to keep Himeno awake. Her nightmares were bad enough in her head. She didn't need them coming to life to torment her. But...her eyes were beginning to really hurt from the lack of sleep and she was having headaches, too. What was going on?

The door to the bathroom opened, the light turned off and the smell Hayate's shampoo filled the air. It smelled so good...Himeno took a deep breath and held it, smiling a little.

"You're still awake?" he asked softly, getting into bed next to her.

"Yeah," she answered, rolling over onto her side so she could see him. He was facing her, too, his hair still wet from the shower. She ran her fingertips along his cheek, over his lips. "Hayate, you know I love you, right?"

Hayate smiled, closing his eyes. "Sure, Tulip-head."

"Just making sure." Just in case she falls asleep and that nightmare, the one where she's strangling him, comes true.

His eyes opened, the smile fading. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Really, it's nothing." Bad dreams, she told herself. They were only bad dreams. Her eyes closed when he moved closer to her, lips brushing hers. The feel of him was enough to calm her down, her arm slipping around his waist. "Hayate..."

Hayate drew back a little, looking deep into her eyes. Even in the darkness, she could pick out the paler blue flecks. "Himeno...I'm sorry."

Blinking at the startling comment, she asked, "For what?"

"This...all of this. If I hadn't found you...if you hadn't..."

Himeno kissed him into silence. The very idea! If he hadn't found her, if she hadn't become the Pretear, she would never have found him. "You're so stupid sometimes." She drew back, biting her lower lip when she tasted salt. "Did you go into the ocean?"

He smiled again, looking sheepish. "Yeah...It was all Blaise's idea, though."

She smiled back and kissed him again. "I bet it was cold." She slipped a hand up the back of his shirt along his spine.

"Mmm...pretty cold." She shivered when he kissed just below her ear, arm tightening around him and pulling him in closer. She didn't want to let him go. If she did... Himeno opened her eyes when he stopped, lying back on the pillow. "It's almost three in the morning. Let's try and get a little sleep tonight, okay?" He kissed her again very gently before settling back. It wasn't long before his breathing leveled out and he was asleep.

Himeno tried and tried to stay awake, but her eyes were heavy...so heavy...

_The Tree of Fenril. How did she get here? That figure...Takako was strung to the Tree with glowing vines, unmoving. Was she...she couldn't be... Takako lifted her head slowly, tears glowing violet streaming down her cheeks. "Himeno...why?"_

_"Why what? I don't understand," Himeno answered._

_"Why did you do this to me, an innocent person? Why? WHY? WHY!"_

_Himeno felt her throat close in a sob. She didn't do it! She didn't do it! "But...you changed...you...I didn't..."_

_"You locked me in this hell, this unending cycle of pain and torment! Neither alive or dead, I exist in this prison. How can you possibly live knowing you did this? It isn't fair. It isn't RIGHT!"_

_Falling to her knees, thr crunching of dead leaves making a sharp crackle sound in the air, Himeno cried, covering her ears. This wasn't real! This wasn't...this wasn't... She screamed when she felt a cold hand close over her shoulder. She knew that pale hand very well... "No, not you, too, Sasame!"_

_**Himeno, what's wrong?** She must be hearing things. Hayate wasn't here._

_Sasame smiled sadly down at her, hair blowing in a breeze that seemed to only flow around him. "I was so certain you could have saved us, Himeno. I thought you were stronger than this."_

_"No...Sasame, it wasn't like that! Please, believe me," Himeno cried, shrinking away from his hand, curling up on herself. She hugged herself tightly, closing her eyes. She would count to three and wake up. One..._

_"Himeno, you can't deny any longer what you did to us. To all of us. Or did you forget about Goh as well?"_

_Two..._

_"Yeah, Himeno," Goh's voice joined in. No, not Goh... "It's all nice and convenient, isn't it, to forget I DIED for you? Must be great not losin' sleep over it!"_

_**Damn it, why won't you wake up?**_

_Himeno opened her eyes. H-Hayate? She looked around desperately for her knight. She was certain this time she heard him. "Hayate? Where are you? Hayate!"_

_"He's here, Himeno," Takako said from her prison._

_Himeno turned, eyes glazed over in horror. No...no..."NOOOO!"_

_Takako had her arms around Hayate's neck, holding him to her and smiling cruelly. The silver knife in her hand gleamed in the dull light. Slowly, it raised up over her head..._

_"NOOO! Don't do it, Takako, PLEASE!" Himeno screamed and screamed. She couldn't stop screaming, her nails digging hard into her arms, leaving deep scratches that drew a little blood. And when she heard the startled gasp, the faint rattle of breath leaving a body, she stopped screaming, staring in horror at the blood, the blood on the ground...his blood...Hayate's blood. It pooled around her knees, still warm, and she touched it, fingers coming away coated in a deep crimson._

_**HIMENO!**_

_Wait...why could she still hear him...? She stood slowly, turning around. Someone was reaching for her from the shadows, grabbing her right hand. The familiar feeling of preting with Hayate swept over her, the cool touch of his mind with hers. How...why..._

_**DAMN IT! Himeno, you have to wake up now!**_

_She could feel his desperation like her own, his utter fear that...that she... "I can't...I can't, Hayate!"_

_**You have to! Himeno, just follow my voice.**_

_"But...but where ARE you!" How was she supposed to follow his voice when he preted with her. And how did he pret with her if he was lying on the ground, blue eyes dull and dead, glazed over and staring at her?_

_**It's not real! I'm here, come to me. Himeno, don't focus on the corpse, focus on my voice! God, Himeno, you HAVE to wake up!**_

_Taking deep, gulping breaths through the sobs, she closed her eyes on the macabre scene and forced herself to focus. Hayate...it was then that she realized he hadn't preted with her, not fully anyway. It was just a link, barely there, but it was enough for him to communicate with her, to let her use it as a lifeline out of this place. And it was weakening him badly to maintain it. Slowly, she opened her eyes..._

And broke into tears again when she saw him kneeling on the bed, holding her in his arms. He was...he looked like he'd been about to cry himself! And he was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen in her life right then! Himeno flung herself on him, hugging him with arms around his neck, legs around his waist, bowling him over onto the bed and just crying for all she was worth into his shoulder.

"H-H-Hayate! I-I thought...I s-saw you...Hayate!"

"Shh...I know, I saw it. I saw what was happening. Damn it, Himeno, why didn't you TELL me?" He was angry, she knew he was angry, but he kept holding her, rubbing her back and kissing her cheek, kissing the tears that couldn't seem to stop.

"It...was s-s-so AWFUL! I saw Takako and...and she..." Himeno still couldn't bring herself to say it outloud.

Hayate held her until she was exhausted from crying. She could tell he was almost completely wiped out from maintaining their link and felt all the worse for it. She would have cried more, but she simply didn't have enough tears to shed. Her eyes hurt so badly from the salty tears that she could barely open them. She sat back, letting him up but not letting him go.

He sighed, hands resting on her shoulders. "Look at me."

Himeno did as he asked, staring into the eyes that were dead not even moments before. He was angry, scared and hurt, but most of all he was relieved.

"Your pupils are a little wide. You're in shock. Come on, let's go downstairs and get you a drink." He stood up, holding his hand out to help her up. She took it, falling into his chest when her shaking legs wouldn't carry her weight. His arms were around her again, holding her up. "I've got you. Just take it easy."

She stood up on her own slowly, pushing away from his chest. Outside, a storm was blowing in, deep thunder rolling, lighting splitting open the sky and flashing through the windows, but it was still far out over the ocean. She could do this...Hayate was here, and she was stronger than this. She gave him a very weak smile, looking out the window as another bolt of lightning lit the little room up...

And saw two very familiar faces staring at her. Himeno screamed, backing up right into Hayate's chest before she fell forward...just falling and falling...with both Sasame's and Goh's faces swimming through the blackness that was eating at her.

* * *

Hayate caught Himeno before she hit the ground, scooping her up easily. His heart couldn't seem to stop pounding as he looked out the window that had terrified her into fainting...and saw nothing. Shimura...What the hell was she trying to do? He shook his head, trying to clear it, blinking a little. Damn it, he'd strained himself too badly to sense if there was a Dark Knight out there.

The door was flung open, Kei, Blaise and Sete running in, ready for another fight. They all three froze at the door when they saw Himeno passed out in Hayate's arms. "Sweet Jaysus, what happened to her?" Blaise exclaimed. The other two were quick to follow him in, Sete coming to look Himeno over.

"She fainted. Shimura's up to something, messing with her head. Blaise, go check outside and see if you find anything. Sete, did you find anything?"

Sete was frowning, hands hovering over Himeno with a soft green light. "Nope, nothing I can fix anyway. Hayate, what's going on?"

Hayate sighed, shifting Himeno's dead-weight in his arms. "Tomorrow at noon, we're having a meeting. Sete, can you get word to all the team captains and Pretears?"

"You want ALL of them on this?" Blaise asked, shocked.

"We NEED all of them. Shimura is getting ready for something, something big. Our team alone can't fight off her, the Dark Knights and the rest of her army. It would be a masacre."

"She doesn't have a damn army. I killed them all, remember?" Kei said tightly, arms crossed over his chest. It wasn't so much that Kei was angry. More that this was starting to make him nervous.

"You killed part of her army," Hayate corrected. "Recent reports say she has a lot more where they came from. And, as much as you'd like to think otherwise, Kei, we need the other teams on this." The weakness came over him then and his knees buckled, almost causing him to drop Himeno. It was always so much harder to partially pret than fully. It took a great deal of effort to stay physically in this world and mentally with the Pretear. A split preting (as it was called) was not something that was encouraged, even for those strong enough to do it. Now he understood why.

"Lordy, what have you done now?" Sete growled, catching one arm. Blaise grabbed the other and together they kept him from falling with Himeno. He quickly put Himeno back on the bed before sitting on the edge next to her, leaning forward a little to try and stop the room from spinning. He didn't regret in the least what he'd done, even if it meant Sete yelling at him. If he hadn't, Himeno would have been trapped in that nightmare until Shimura saw fit to release her. He'd have to talk with Himeno about this when she came to. She should have told him what had happened still bothered her. It bothered him that she didn't. He knew it was because she didn't want him to worry, but how could he not after what he'd just seen? Shimura wasn't playing around with this!

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just used a little too much leafe, that's all."

Kei arched a golden brow questioningly. "You? You used too much leafe? Never thought that would ever happen."

Hayate scowled at Kei, in absolutely no mood to deal the the Knight of Light's tongue. "Just do what I asked already."

Kei was startled by the curt tone, but Hayate refused to apologize for it. Things were moving quickly now...quicker than anyone had expected. He still didn't fully understand what Shimura could possibly want with Himeno, and right about now he didn't care. All he knew was the Queen of Nightmares had singled out Himeno...and that he would do anything and everything to keep her safe.

* * *

"I'm gonna go check the perimeter now," Blaise mumbled before backing out, leaving Sete to fuss over Hayate.

Blaise pulled on his sweatshirt, zipping it up over his t-shirt and pajama pants. He didn't bother with shoes. Sand felt good on bare feet anyway. And the storm was still a bit away so it wouldn't be too gross out. He shut the door to his room, being careful not to wake the little ones up. Yayoi and Feryn ran to them when Himeno first screamed to keep them calm and not have them interupt. They didn't really need Mannen shouting and getting angry, or Hajime running around worried, or Shin crying. It wouldn't be good for moral if they saw their Pretear, who they idolized, had fainted over some dream. He'd guessed that Shimura would try something like this. She was one sick bitch who loved to play with people's heads. Still, no matter how many different names he called her, no matter how many times he joked about it, it didn't change the fact that he was a little nervous now. Hayate had done something very risky tonight...Hayate...

What in the bloody hell had he been THINKING? Not only was he running the risk of fading by using too much leafe, but he also opened a gateway for Shimura into his head. All it took was a Pretear being attacked by the Queen of Nightmares to bring down a whole team. Shimura's power worked like a disease; get one and you've got them all. Shin was young and very innocent, so he was easier to tap. And Jikan had done a right fine job of busting a gaping hole right into Himeno's pysche when he'd forced her to pret. All Shimura needed was a little crack and she could wreak some serious havoc. Blaise could only imagine what total access to Himeno's fears would do. And, out of all the knights on their team, save possibly Hayate because he just glimpsed what Himeno dreamed about, he understood exactly the type of torment Shimura was inflicting. He'd seen her 'collection' first hand. Hell, he'd almost become part of it! he shivered, tucking his hands into his pockets further. Nasty, evil, crazy-assed...

"Blaise?"

He looked up when Mawata came in from the kitchen, taking her headphones off. She was still dressed in her jogging clothes, hair pulled back. And she looked so bloody cute! He managed his usual grin, glancing up the stairs as Sete and Kei emerged from Hayate's room, Kei muttering angrily and Sete trying to calm him down. Jaysus, how much drama could they have in one bloody night? "Hello, love! Nice jog?" At least she hadn't been in the house during the incident. The thought of Shimura getting her slimy fingers on Mawata made him wanna puke. Or kill something. Or maybe both at the same time. The image made he smile wider and snicker.

Mawata frowned, confused about why he was laughing. She touched her sweat damped hair a little, flushing. "I probably look like a wreck. I just saw you were stepping out and...and, well...uh..."

Damn, a girl blushing was just too sweet. And Mawata did it quite a bit. "I was gonna go walkin' for a bit. Wanna come?" Company would be nice. He could do business and get a little flirting in at the same time. And if Shimura DID try something on Mawata, he'd be there to lay the royal smack-down on her ass!

"Oh, sure! I mean, if you don't mind?"

He made a face, scoffing at the very idea. "I asked, so I don't mind at all. You can be my protection from all the crazy people tryin' tio get in me knickers!"

Mawata laughed and blushed, not looking at him. Blaise opened the door and held it for her as stepped back out into the very pink sky. Sunrises and sunsets always looked better over water, he thought. Like cotton candy, or sherbet. "Hey, the sky looks like ice cream," he said outloud.

She laughed again, shielding her eyes with one hand. Her skin, which was usually pale, was now a bright gold color. If it weren't for the fact Himeno would kill him deader than dead, he would have kissed her by now. Oh, well. He shouldn't be anyway. "Blaise, can I ask you something?"

"Sure! Who am I to refuse a beautiful gal?"

Mawata glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Blaise checked the little triumphant smile from surfacing. He was very good at hiding what he was thinking from showing. That look said it all. Mawata at least liked him. Hmm...maybe a certain red-haired viper's temper would be worth it after all. "Well, it's something I've been thinking about for a while now. Am I...am I putting everyone at risk?"

The question was totally and completely NOT the question he was expecting! Blaise frowned, heart slamming to a sudden hault. How much did Mawata know about all this? "Umm...ya got me. What're you sayin', love?"

"I don't know fully what's going on," she explained quickly. "But, I do know enough about what happened before...with the Princess of Disaster...to understand that if the darkness used me once, it can do it again. So, all I'm asking is am I putting Himeno in danger?"

She...she was bloody clever! And it was touching how truly concerned she was. Blaise managed a smile, took a risk and looped an arm around her shoulders to give her a little hug. "Naw, no more so than we're already in! Just...you have a bad dream, lemme know, okay?"

Mawata laughed and moved a little closer. Not much, but it was enough. "You don't need to go THAT overboard," she mumbled.

"No joke, darlin'! This pyscho Queen we're fightin', she loooooves to play around with yer nightmares, make 'em come to life, see? And then...ARRRRRGH!" He jumped at her.

She screamed, falling into the sand. Blaise cracked up, doubled over in laughter. Mawata, lips set in a firm line, eyes narrowed, shoved him over the rest of the way. "You...you're awful! Do you know how badly my heart's pounding?"

"Sorry...bloody funny...ahahahaha...can't...breath," Blaise was on his side, tears in his eyes and holding his aching stomach. The look on her face was one he'd remember for a long time!

"Well, I'm not giving you CPR if you pass out," she replied, the tartness melting away as she began to laugh softly. She stood up, brushing the sand from her pants. "My heart is STILL pounding!"

"Mine, too." But for a different reason, he added silently. He stood as well, shaking himself like a wet dog to get the sand off. "Right, back to business."

"Oh, I'm sorry! If you're busy, I can-," She turned like she was about to go back into the house.

"Don't even think about it! Yer me body guard, remember?"

Smiling shyly, Mawata took up walking next to him again.

They didn't say another word until they came to the window looking into Himeno and Hayate's room. Blaise frowned, crouching over the sand. What the... "Hey, darlin', how close to the house were you joggin'?"

Mawata looked over his shoulder and shook her head. "I jog closer to water. I thought..."

"You thought, what?" he asked, looking at her. She had a very puzzled expression on her face.

Biting her lower lip, Mawata continued saying, "I thought it was you and Mannen standing here. I thought you two were guarding or something."

Blaise's stomach did a couple backflips, a somersault and then twisted itself into a knot. Knights outside the window? "You thought it was me and Mannen?"

She nodded. "There was one with very pale hair, and the other looked like it might have some red. They weren't facing me, though."

Forcing himself to breath, he pressed his hand into the footprints and used a little leafe. If they were Dark Knights, he'd be able to tell...He drew his hand back with a hiss, standing up so quickly he almost gave Mawata a black eye.

"Blaise? What's wrong?"

He didn't answer her. He COULDN'T answer her! Hell, he was having a hard time believing it himself. Two Leafe Knights. One with the leafe of Sound. The other with the leafe of Fire. But, he knew they were dead! He'd heard what had happened and there was no way a knight could survive in either circumstance! This wasn't real. This couldn't be real...but the evidence was right before his very eyes. Had Shimura ACTUALLY created living nightmares? That hellhound had used the nightmare as a way to cross over, but this...this was completely different! "What the hell is goin' on around here?" he muttered. This was getting uglier by the minute.


	7. Double The Trouble

AUTHOR'S NOTE: GAHHHHH! This would have been out 3 days ago...but FF was having issues and I couldn't post my story! Anyway, it's extra long and full of fluff and I hope you and enjoy it and I'm so sorry for the delay!

* * *

Chapter 7: Double The Trouble

"Kei, please calm down! You're pouting is starting to annoy me," Sete begged, flopping back onto the bed as Kei continued to pace back and forth.

"But we talked about this! We all agreed, no damn secrets," Kei fumed. "Hayate knows something and he isn't telling us a damn thing! You saw the look on his face!"

"What look, the oh-my-God-my-girlfriend's-being-stalked-by-some-crazy-beyotch look? Or the why-is-this-happening-to-us look?" she drawled, yawning and closing her eyes. She yelped when a pillow smacked her right in the head. "Kei! What the hell is your deal?"

"My deal," he bit out sharply. "Is that I'm Hayate's second. He's made it official to everyone, including the Topaz Prince. But he won't tell me SHIT! BLAISE knows more than I do! That damned British moron!"

Sete rolled her eyes and got out of bed. When Kei ranted, he tended to go on regardless of who was listening or not. And she really wanted to sleep! Only one thing to do here... She went up behind him, rubbing his shoulders. She dug her thumbs in hard enough to press out all the tense knots. Slowly, Kei began to relax, head falling forward so she could massage his neck.

"That's cheating," he muttered.

Smiling, she kissed the back of his neck lightly, breath blowing on the short waves that came free from the ponytail. He let out a small hiss. His neck was one of his sensitive spots. And so was... Sete smiled at the small sound that escaped him when her hands moved lower to his back, pressing right at the base of his spine. "Feeling better?" she teased.

"Evil. Pure evil, that's what you are."

"You like it, admit it!"

Kei arched a brow, giving her a very slight curve of lips. "Maybe," he answered. Turning around, he kissed her lightly, just a press of lips together. "Cinnamon chapstick?"

"Mmm...yep!" Kei was forever saying how much he liked cinnamon anything.

"Oo...how delicious." He went back for seconds, arms circling her waist, pulling her up tight against him. They backed into the bed, Sete pulling him down on top of her.

"So, feeling better yet?" she mocked him.

He smiled against her mouth, still kissing her. "Almost there..."

* * *

Blaise pounded back another shot of Jamison whiskey, shaking his head as the burning liquid coursed down his throat. Holy crap...holy friggin' CRAP! He rubbed his eyes with a shakey hand and poured yet another shot. Hayate had said they were dead...no way in hell could it have been real!

But it WAS real! No illusion would have left trace amounts of leafe in the area. Or bloody footprints for that matter. BLOODY FOOTPRINTS! Ghosts with feet! "I'm losin' me bloody mind," he muttered.

"I was not aware you possessed one to start with, _mon ami_," Feryn said softly as he entered the kitchen. He frowned at the half empty bottle of whiskey and opened the fridge. "That bottle was open already, _oui_?"

"Nope! S'all my handiwork," Blaise answered. _And I'm probably gonna finish the whole damn thing, too,_ he thought. Granted, getting drunk wouldn't change anything...but it sure as hell would make him feel better!

"_Mon Dieu_, your liver must be ruined by now," the Frenchman muttered as he pulled out a yougurt container, opening it and grabbing a spoon from a drawer before sitting down at the table. The scars on his face were small but still very fresh and pink. A deep slashing one went across his forehead and down over his right eye. Another split his upper lip in the corner and went down his cheek to just under his chin. And still a third raked down the right side of his face, following close to his hair line.

"Gawd, I hope so," Blaise muttered, ignoring the shot glass now and tipping the whiskey back. After taking a VERY healthy swig, he set the bottle down, putting his elbows on the table to cover his face. This was worse than before! Bringing the dead back to life was impossible! No amount of leafe energy could do that. So...how did Shimura manage it? He sighed, frustrated and too tired (and a little too drunk) to even bother with the puzzle right then and there. Both knights looked up at the loud **THUD** coming from the ceiling. "What the bloody hell!"

Feryn's hand jumped as an automatic reflex, lightening snapping around him. Blaise yelped when a tiny spark hit him, burning his arm. "I am sorry, _mon ami!_ It is just... that is how the hellhound..."

Blaise checked back any angry response to that. The thud had scared Feryn, even though the Knight of Storms would never admit to it. Forcing a smile, even though his arm hurt like a bitch, he shrugged. "S'all good! So, what's with the yougurt?"

"I cannot sleep, and when I cannot sleep I eat yougurt," he answered, digging his spoon in. "The milk helps to make one sleep better."

"Huh. Never knew that!" Finally, something useful from the Frenchie!

Another thud from over head and a loud, "GODDAMN IT!" Blaise grinned when he realized it had been both Sete and Kei cussing. Well, well, well... that would explain why he couldn't hear the Knight of Light shouting angrily anymore!

"Perhaps we should investigate the noise," Feryn suggested, glancing at the ceiling.

"No good. Couldn't drag me up them stairs sober or drunk! Don't wanna see th' show."

Feryn arched a brow, "_Pardon?"_

Sighing, Blaise shook his head. "Ya don't wanna know, mate!"

A door opened upstairs and hurried footsteps came down. Hayate entered the kitchen, still in pajamas but looking wide awake. "Blaise?"

Blaise took a deep shuddering breath and practically inhaled his next swig of whiskey. Whoa...the whole bloody room was beginning to spin. Made him a little dizzy..."Well, I've got bad news and freaky-as-hell news. Which you want first, Cap'n?"

Hayate glanced at the alcohol on the table but didn't say anything. He knew it had to be pretty bad for Blaise to drink alone. "Start with freaky and end with bad," he answered, getting some water from the tap and joining the other two.

"Oooo, never woulda pegged ya fer a freak, mate!" Blaise laughed at his own joke and missed the look shared between Feryn and Hayate. Feryn very deftly took the Jamison away and hid it under the table. "Well, s'like this! See, I went outside with Mawata-,"

"Why was she there?" Hayate demanded.

"Hold up, I was gettin' to that lovely bit soon enough! Now, we was outside an' all that and I saw some footprints in the sand by yer window. So I asks her, I asks, 'Oi, ya lovely bit o'-,"

"Blaise, for the love of GOD, just get to the point," Hayate exclaimed. Blaise was a handful sober. Plastered...that was something else!

Scowling, Blaise reached for his bottle...only to find it missing. "Oi, where did Jami wander off to? Bloody stupid git!"

"Perhaps we should discuss this later," Feryn suggested blandly, glaring at the very inebriated Knight of Flowers.

"Sure I had 'im wit me," Blaise continued to mutter, looking all around (even under the table, where it was still hidden) to find it. "Argh, bloody, bloody, smeggin' HELL!"

Hayate sighed, slouching down in his chair, pushing his hair back impatiently. "I'll find your Jamison if you tell me what happened, Blaise," he entreatied.

Feryn shook his head vehemntly. The only thing worse than a drunk Blaise was a Blaise with a hangover from being drunk.

Blaise, meanwhile, had big hopeful eyes. "Really? What a true mate! Y'know, Faerie, me an' Hayate've been mates fer...oh, I dunno. S'been a while though, right?"

"Back to checking the perimeter with Mawata," Hayate encouraged.

"Ah, that lovely woman! That sweet, adorable, sexiest arse I've ever seen woman! Y'know something, Hayate? I think she likes me!" Blaise sniggered at that, swaying in his chair. "And ya wanna know somethin' else?"

"Not particularly," he muttered.

"You are going to here it anyway, it seems," Feryn remarked dryly.

"Sod off, ya prat," Blaise snarled. "I'm talkin' to me mate o'er here, NOT to you!"

Feryn's jaw worked angrily but he remained silent and stirred his yougurt with an almost violent zeal.

Blaise dropped an arm on Hayate, and Hayate had to grab him to keep him from falling out of his chair. "God, Blaise, how much did you drink?"

"Dunno...a few shots...maybe ten? No...pro'ly closer ta twelve. Ish."

Hayate groaned. This was ridiculous! "The one time I ask you to do something very important and you get too shit-faced to be of any use!"

Both Feryn and Blaise blinked in surprise at that little outburst. "Whoa...s'first time I ever heard ya use somethin' stronger than damn," the Englishman commented. "Don't like it too much comin' from yer mouth!"

"You're being an idiot, and it's starting to piss me off! Himeno's life is in danger here, and you're too damn drunk to give me a single piece of USEFUL information!"

Again, both knights were stunned silent. Outbursts like that weren't typical of Hayate...which meant he was extremely worried for Himeno's safety. Blaise managed to sit himself back in his own chair. "There were two knights outside the window," he mumbled. "Leafes of Sound and Fire. Thought ya said th' blokes were dead."

"They ARE dead. How did Shimura bring them back?"

"Dunno...s'why I've been drinkin'. Can't think o' the answer, and the truth scares the piss outta me."

"If she is bringing the dead back... we are doomed," Feryn whispered.

"No, she can't. It's not one of her powers, and is impossible besides," Hayate said firmly. "Once a leafe is gone, it gets reborn again. If their leafes WERE to be real, they would be infants, not full grown knights."

"Yeah, and the Bitch of Delusions doesn't have th' power raise th' bloody dead," Blaise added, slipping his head down onto the table. He didn't realize that Hayate had just said that. "Trust me, I know!"

"Oh? And how can you be so certain of that?" Feryn asked angrily, still mad over being told to 'sod off'.

"Cuz...wait, not s'posed ta say, am I?" He snickered as if he just said the funniest thing in the world.

Hayate shook his head and grabbed one of Blaise's arms to haul him to his feet to take him upstairs before he said anything stupid. "I'm getting him to his room. He's too drunk to get any more information out of." And when the knight slept off the booze, they were going to have a very long talk!

Feryn watched the two stumble off up the stairs, blue eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Sighing, he cleaned up the mess in the kitchen and went back upstairs to his room. Opening the door, he blinked when he saw the night stand lamp was on and that Yayoi was sitting up in bed, hugging a pillow under the blankets. She had the TV on and was watching Sex And The City reruns intently. "_Me fleur_, it is far passed the time for you to be sleeping." He pulled back the covers and slid in next to her, adjusting the pillows behind his back so he could sit with an arm around her shoulder.

Yayoi offered a shaky little smile, but it didn't reach her eyes like it usually did. "I wanted to wait up for you," she answered.

"You are an awful liar, Yayoi. But it is a_ tres romantique_ thought." Feryn kissed her cheek lightly, then a little lower along her jaw.

She shivered, and this time the smile was the one he loved. It lit her entire face up, making her eyes sparkle. "Oh, stop!"

"Tell me truly, are you afraid?"

Yayoi sighed, the smile disappearing. "I know it's silly. I've got you here, right? But...well, this is different. Feryn...I dreamed about you getting hurt. Almost exactly like that. I distracted you and something hurt you."

Feryn's blood went cold. "You...you dreamt of this?"

She nodded, biting her lower lip.

No... He hugged her closer to him, kissing the top of her head. Not Yayoi. Please, not Yayoi! He'd already lost so many friends and loved ones to the Queen of Nightmares. He would NOT lose her! "Yayoi, this may sound very silly, but if ever you dream of something awful again, you must tell me."

"But, why? What's going on?"

He closed his eyes, swallowing back the pain he was feeling. He understood now why knights were encouraged NOT to falling in love with normal humans. They were so fragile compared to a Pretear or one of the females in Leafenia. The White Ladies were a select group of women, mostly Potentials, who had the ability to create new life. When a knight died, their leafe was absorbed back into the world. The White Ladies could then draw that leafe out and, with the help of an existing knight, use it to create a new Leafe Knight. They were not nearly strong enough to be Pretears, but they were stronger than the average human.

"Feryn, what's wrong?"

Sighing, he kissed her hair again. "Nothing, _ma belle fleur_. I was simply thinking."

Yayoi wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. "I love you so much!"

"_Je t'adore._" He smiled at the little excited squeal she made when he said her favorite French phrase. And it was one he would tell her until the day they died.

* * *

Hayate sat on the bed, waiting for Himeno to finish digging through the closet for her other shoe. "Don't you have another pair to wear?" he called, flipping through the magazine that had been sitting on the table.

"Yeah, but they're all heels and I'm not wearing heels," she shouted. She screamed and it was quickly followed by a loud clatter.

"Himeno!" He was out of the chair and at the closet door before she could even push the piles of clothing and luggage off herself.

Himeno sat up, one of his shirts on her head and her suitcase on her lap. "This SUCKS!" She looked almost ready to cry. "All I wanted was a vacation without psycho queens coming after me, friends going crazy and getting engaged, luggage falling on my head..." She wiped her nose angrily, still sitting on the floor.

Hayate stepped over the shoe pile by the door (it had surprised him no end to learn Himeno had a shoe fetish) and took a seat on an overturned hat box that had been stored on one of the top shelves. It was a little dusty and had obviously not been pulled down in years. "Himeno..."

"I mean, really, is it too much to ask for one lousy vacation with my boyfriend?" she continued to rant, tears dripping off her chin to splash onto her Cookie Monster t-shirt. "I can't sleep cuz the Queen of Crazies is invading my head, I can't talk to my best friend anymore cuz all she talks about is her stupid wedding. I can't even spend five minutes with you cuz someone's always interupting with bad news! As if we NEED anymore bad news right now! God, I just...why...I don't know..."

He closed his eyes, swallowing heavily. It was killing him to hear her talk like that! She sounded so...defeated. Taking a deep breath, he brushed her tears away gently with his thumbs, cupping her face. "Look at me, Himeno," he ordered softly.

She looked up, eyes still very teary looking.

"I don't know why all of this is happening now, to you. But we're going to get through this. We WILL get through this! And we're going to do it together, okay? We've been together for three years. We've fought off everything that's come our way. And we'll keep on fighting until they get the idea that nothing they do is going to break us."

"How do you know we'll win this time?" she sniffled.

He smiled, knowing what he was going to say next would irritate her. "Because some Tulip-headed girl keeps reminding me we can't give up, not ever."

Himeno laughed, sniffling again and punched his arm. "You jerk! That was the worst feel-better speach of all times!"

"Worse than the Star Wars one?" he joked.

"Way worse! 'Oh, Anakin, I love you so much'," she mocked in a high-pitched voice. Then, making her voice as deep as possible, she said, " 'No, Padme, my love for you is so much greater!' 'And it's because you love me that I love you more.' "

"Did you memorize that or something?" Hayate asked, laughing as he helped her to her feet. His eyes drifted up a shelf or two and he pulled down the missing shoe.

"Hey! Where'd you find it?" she exclaimed.

"It was up there. You were just too short to see it." He made a little 'oof' as she elbowed his stomach.

"Asshole!" She used his arm for balance as she shoved her foot into the black and magenta skate boarding shoe without untying it. "Okay, I'm ready to go."

They picked their way out of the closet, Hayate whipping the shirt still on her head off. "I may let you wear my sweater, but not my Franz Ferdinand shirt!"

"You only let me wear the sweater because I love you so much," Himeno teased, carrying on with the whole Star Wars thing. She opened the door and stepped out into the hall.

"Yes, but it's the knowledge of your love for me that gives me the strength to part with the sweater I love so much" he shot back.

Blaise was coming out of his room at just that time and arched a brow. "Is this code for somethin' I don't really wanna know about?" he asked, giving them a suspicious look.

"Yep! It's code for, 'God, your ass looks hot in those jeans'," Himeno answered.

Blaise made a great show of leaning back and making an approving face. "Completely spankable, that is."

"What? Hey, quite staring at my ass," Hayate shouted, putting his back to the wall quickly.

" 'Course, the front ain't too shabby either," the Englishman continued, grinning at how red Hayate's cheeks got.

"Ew...pervert! Stay away from my boyfriend," Himeno shouted, shoving Blaise playfully.

"Oi! You practically begged me to stare at his arse!"

* * *

Kei looked up from below where he and Sete were waiting by the front door for the others to join them. Tonight had been Himeno and Hayate's turn to pick a date, and they'd decided the B-rated movie festival would be interesting, if only for the purpose of mocking the movies. Blaise and Mawata were staying home with the other three, but it wasn't without much complaining from Blaise. He'd been dying to go, and this was the last night it was showing.

"Well... Hayate, is there something you'd like to share?" Kei asked, arching a brow. Sete snickered next to him, hiding her smile behind a hand. They were dressed completely opposite each other. Kei wore dark jeans, a white t-shirt with bright blue print that said 'Like The View?' with a jean jacket. Sete wore dark jeans as well, but she had a tight fitting black tank top on under a black jacket with lots of zippers. Her dark hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, the ends trailing down to almost her hips.

"Yes, we have an announcement," Blaise continued, managing to get an arm around Hayate's shoulders. "I'm pregnant with his child!"

"WHAT?"

Sete made a pained face. "Oo...I hope it's a C-section."

Kei winced at what she'd suggested, shifting from one foot to the other. "As I said, you're pure, unadulterate evil!"

She smirked, green eyes flashing at some private joke between the two.

Feryn and Yayoi finally emerged from their room as well, a little more dressed up than everyone else (except for possibly Sete). yayoi wore a cute pink jean skirt with a floral print shirt that had frilly bits at the neck and a casual jean jacket. Feryn had blue jeans, dress shoes, a neatly tucked red t-shirt with a faded design on the front under a black dress jacket.

"Damn...he's so pretty," Blaise remarked as the couple walked down stairs. He was still in his grey sweatpants and tight black shirt that he slept in. "Sorry, Hayate, but I'm divorcin' you for the Frenchie."

"Fine," Hayate said quickly, putting his arm around Himeno's waist and walking down the stairs with her. he had his favorite light blue t-shirt on under a dark brown zip-up hoody with blue stripes down the arms. Himeno had an ivory sweater jacket on over her Cookie Monster t-shirt. She didn't match in the least, but he loved it. It was very Himeno-esque.

"Aww...not even a tear shed at the loss?" Blaise continued, mock sobbing as Kei opened the door.

"I could always make those tears real," Sete threatened as Kei took her hand and pulled her from the house.

"God, you're so hot when you threaten me," he hollered as the door shut behind Feryn and Yayoi.

Feryn shook his head, kissing Yayoi's cheek as he put his arm around her shoulders. "That man loves the sound of his own voice!" Yayoi giggled, hugging him.

"That he does," Kei agreed, stopping as they came to the gate separating the front lawn from the boardwalk. He unlocked the gate and held it open for everyone else before shutting and locking it again. "Right, so where is the Snooze Fest anyway?"

Himeno rolled her eyes before taking a flying leap onto Hayate's back. He'd been half expecting it and bent down a little so he could pick her up. "It's not a snooze fest, Kei! It's called WWTT Fest!"

"Huh?"

"WWTT stands for What Were They Thinking," Hayate explained, smiling when Himeno looped her arms around his neck. He adjusted his hold under her thighs a little to keep from dropping her.

:"Oh...how appropriate for this date," was the sarcastic reply.

"You could always stay home with Mannen and the others," Feryn suggested with a cruel smile.

Kei's response was a silent one that involved only four muscles in his finger being used. Sete gave her little smirk of a smile.

Feryn grinned at that, the scar cutting across his lip pulling tight and making an odd little crease in his otherwise flawless face. No one saw the quick flash of sadness in Yayoi's eyes at that. "It was only a suggestion, though I do agree that watching bad movies does not sound as fun as they are making it out to be."

"You're only saying that cuz you've never been to WWTT Fest," Himeno replied from Hayate's back. His hair was blowing back a little in her face, but she didn't mind. She loved his hair...and had proved it by kicking his ass when he'd suggested maybe cutting it off! "You don't go to watch them seriously. You go to make fun of them!"

"No throwing Laffy Taffy this time," Hayate warned.

Himeno grinned, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. "You ran pretty fast that time!"

"And I don't feel like doing it again!" The very first time they'd gone, Himeno had decided to throw Laffy Taffy at the screen...and ended up missing and throwing it down some girl's shirt. The girl very obviously had implants and was wearing a shirt that did little to cover her lingerie bra, and the boyfriend had thought it was Hayate who had thrown it. The guy was HUGE and, seeing as he was human, Hayate couldn't really fight him...so they'd booked it out of the theater as fast as they could with the guy threatening all kinds of painful things.

They got to the theater complex hosting the event and saw there was quite a crowd outside the theater. Hayate let Himeno go so they could study the playlist. "Okay," she said, pointing to a movie. "If we hurry, we can catch 'Android Cats From Hell' and then when that gets out, jump righ in here at 'Turkey Season'-,"

"-Or 'Sandworms'," Hayate interupted. "That one is probably the worst movie in the world!"

"Oooh, yeah, let's do that one! And that would put us out in time for 'Tambourine Of Death'! Perfect!"

" 'Tambourine Of Death'? Is that really the name of a movie?" Kei demanded.

Himeno nodded happily. "See, Kei, you're a natural! You've already started mocking it and you haven't even seen it yet!"

Kei rolled his eyes, "I'm all a-quiver with anticipation," he muttered. Sete laughed, slipping her hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Are these movies...scary?" Yayoi asked nervously, hugging Feryn.

"Haha...yeah, right! They suck!" Himeno answered.

"Why can we not go and see a date movie?" Feryn asked. "_Le_ _theatre du filme_ across the street is showing Sense And Sensability. Perhaps that would..." His voice trailed off at the disgusted look Himeno was giving him.

She made a barfing motion and said, "Uh, no! When it's your turn to pick a date, we can do that. But it's our turn, and this is what we want."

Sighing, Feryn whispered to Yayoi, "I tried." She nodded, shivering a little. He rubbed her back soothingly. It didn't matter if the movies were awful. After the dream she'd had of him getting hurt, all it took was just a little spook to scare her.

Hayate watched them for a second before saying, "Of course...there's also 'The Clowning'. That one was almost as bad as 'Sandworms'."

"I didn't see that one! Yeah, and we can see that right after 'Sandworms'!"

Hayate and Feryn shared a look and Feryn mouthed a silent "thank you". They bought tickets for all three movies, the grand total coming to thirty dollars. And they got free popcorn for doing a triple feature. So far, the date was pretty cheap.

After getting their popcorn, drinks (Kei took minutes explaining to Himeno that spending four dollars on a bottle of water was actually pretty good) and enough candy to satisfy even Hajime's sweet tooth, they found the theater for their first movie. Himeno led the way up the stairs to the back of the theater. "Come on, we have to get the best seats in the house!"

"These are the best seats?" Sete asked skeptically. A guy whistled at her as she passed and she turned on him with such a fierce scowl that he sunk down his his seat, gulping. "Unless you want me to tear your balls off with my bare hand, apologize now!"

"S-s-sorry!" he gasped out.

Kei smiled, kissing the spot right under her ear. "God, that was sexy!"

"You masochist," she answered back before sitting down next to Yayoi and Feryn. "Oh, great..."

"Five bucks says they start making out just as the opening credits end," Kei muttered.

"Ten says before they end," Sete answered back.

The theater darkened and the film started with loud, horrible string music that was a little tinny and off-key. Feryn leaned over and kissed Yayoi a little more than was necessary.

"Damn it!" Kei fished out ten dollars from his pocket, slapping it into Sete's outstretched hand. Smiling, she put it into her coat pocket before leaning closer to him, head on his shoulder, bother her hands covering his.

The minute the first android cat (a very poorly disguised tabby cat with tin foil on its head) came on, Himeno and Hayate started cracking up, Hayate choking on his popcorn. "Look, he's not microwave safe!" Himeno declared.

"Of course, a cat shouldn't be put in the microwave anyway," Hayate continued.

Kei and Sete exchanged glances. Well, mocking people and things was their forte... "Where's PETA when you need them?" Kei added.

"Yeah, pyschological trauma, and not just to the poor cat," Sete said.

Himeno leaned forward, smiling over at them. "See, I told you this was fun!"

Hayate nudging her and pointing at the screen got her attention back just in time for one of the cats to lose its tin foil as it tried to hump another cat. The camera had been placed on the floor and the cats were practically blocking the shot of a woman screaming and pretending to be afraid of the android cats. "GET A ROOM!" they both shouted. There were a couple of angry looks, but for the most part the theater was laughing quietly.

"Are you talking to us?" Feryn demanded, pulling his lips away from Yayoi's long enough to ask that.

"Not yet," Kei answered. Sete was practically dying in his arms.

"This is...so bad...so very bad," she got out.

"My God, if I wanted porn I could have stayed home," someone else in the audience shouted as the cats continued humping on the screen.

The image flashed away in a very poorly done fading sequence to two men talking. Except... "Hey, this is like watching a dubbed film," Sete said. The voices and the mouth movements didn't match at all. Both she and Kei laughed as a cardboard flying saucer crashed into the 'window', losing a piece of it's siding as it did.

"Bring back the oven safe kitties," Hayate called out.

"Shut up back there!" a woman hissed.

Himeno laughed louder and grabbed a handful of popcorn. Hayate was holding his sides, unable to reply to the request to stay quiet.

Feryn and Yayoi were talking softly, something about a shade of pink. Between Sete, Kei, Hayate and Himeno, as well as a couple other people in the audience, everyone either hated them or loved them. The lights came on at the end and everyone began to file out. The woman who had shouted at them was talking to a manager and pointing at them. The manager listened, nodded, and then laughed at her before walking away.

"Whew! I thought for a second we were gonna be kicked out," Himeno said. She and Hayate led the way to the second film that had already started. This time, the seats in the back were all taken so they were forced to sit wherever there was room in the crowded theater. It ended up being Kei and Sete sitting somewhere in the middle, Feryn and Yayoi a little further forward and across the way from them, and Hayate and Himeno at the very front closest to the screen. No one else was sitting anywhere near them. And this time the entire theater was busy shouting stuff at the screen.

Himeno frowned, slouching down in her seat. "Damn it...why did everyone have to take our idea?" she demanded. One of the sandworms (an earthworm someone had tried to make larger by zooming in super close on it) was trying to crawl through a cardboard city that was entirely too fake.

Hayate hesitated a second before he leaned over and kissed her neck. "It's because we're geniuses," he answered, touching her cheek to turn her toward him so he could kiss her.

She shifted positions a little so that her shoulder was turned in and she was sort of facing him. "Hayate..." Her arm went around his neck, pulling him down again.

"Just step on the damn thing already!" Himeno and Hayate stopped kissing to smile at Kei's shouted comment.

"Or get the android cats to beat the shit out of them!" That was said by Sete.

"We created a monster," Hayate joked, hand moving from her face to around her waist, slipping down her hip a little.

"Huh, you think?" Himeno replied before kissing him again. Finally, some time to themselves! She sighed a little as the kiss deepened and became a little less playful than before. Feryn and Yayoi would have been proud if they'd seen it! But...God, he was good at kissing!

Hayate glanced up a the screen and drew back. "Wait...the best part. Ready? One...two..."

Himeno grinned and together they shouted the next line from the incredibly bad actor, "GOD SAVE US FROM THESE SANDWORMS!" They fell back in the seat, laughing hysterically.

"Did he really just say that?" a woman asked incredulously.

"God save us from this movie," Kei hollered. "Seriously...what the hell were they SMOKING when they came up with this trash?"

The rest of the movie was spent cracking jokes, saying quotes and, finally, throwing popcorn at the screen. Himeno and Hayate looked at each other and smiled before he kissed her hand. This was exactly what she'd wanted the entire trip!

* * *

"Right hand blue," Shin called from the couch, staring at the spinner.

"Whose idea was this again?" Blaise muttered. Twister...of all the games for the kid to pick it had to be Twister! After the comment on the bus... He was having a hard time not thinking about it. Especially since he was playing with Mawata. Hajime and Mannen were playing Crash Bandicoot on TV, which left Shin to be their spinner. And he was having a blast making them into human origami!

"Uh...yours...I think," Mawata said, staring at him from between her legs. One foot was on a yellow dot, the other on a red which left her legs apart. She already had her hands crossed over themselves to accomodate the new order.

And the only way for Blaise to follow suit was to put himself in a very compromising position. While he didn't mind in the least, he though Mawata might. "Hey, poppet, can we get a respin?"

"Right hand, blue! Right hand, blue!" Shin chanted, smiling happily and bouncing up and down on the couch.

"Oi...Mawata, love, forgive me..." He bent his knees a little, ducked down under her legs and put his hand on the only blue spot he could reach without falling. This was awkward...

Mawata blushed dark red but managed a smile. "What's the next spin, Shin?"

Shin spun and waited for the needle to stop. "Left hand, red!"

"Uh...okay," Blaise said. And he thought the last move had been awkward! Carefully, he moved his left hand off the green spot and moved it to a red one...which put him stretched out completely under Mawata. "Oh, boy... Just don't go fallin', okay?"

Mawata laughed, then had to quickly get a good grip in her socks so that she didn't fall. "I'll try, but...no promises, okay?" Slowly, she lifted her hand, uncrossed it, and reached for the dot that was in the back corner...and did exactly what Blaise told her not to do.

Blaise quickly dropped down and flipped over, catching her. "Didn't I just warn you about all this?" he asked, laughing.

Laughing as well, Mawata pushed herself up...which put her lips mere inches from his. She blushed, licking her lips. Not a good idea when he really wanted to kiss her. "Oh...sorry," she said softly.

"S'okay," he answered. She wasn't getting up and he didn't care. Her eyes closed, her lips parted. He began to lean forward...

"Did you guys get hurt?" Shin asked from somewhere very close by.

Both jumped and looked up to find Shin staring down at them worriedly. "No...not a bloody scratch to see," Blaise said quickly, helping Mawata to her feet. She still couldn't look him in the eye. "Hey, maybe we should just watch a movie for now? you know, don't wanna have too much of a good thing."

"Okay!" Shin agreed quickly. He helped pack up Twister and turned on one of the other TVs. "Can we watch 'Alladin'? I like that movie!"

'Sure thing, poppet! Put it in." He and Mawata sat on the couch together, Blaise very casually putting his arm on the back of the couch behind her shoulders. She blushed an even darker red.

Hajime and Mannen were still playing their game. Shin grabbed a bean bag and dragged it in front of Blaise and Mawata before flopping onto it and wiggling around until a perfect Shin-sized depression formed. The movie started and the three watched it quietly.

At the part where they're going on the magic carpet ride, Mawata put her head on Blaise's shoulder. Blaise, a little surprised, quickly recovered and settled his arm around her shoulder for real, rubbing her upper arm. That was unexpected...unexpected but very nice. Hmm...maybe he should... Using his other hand, he tilted her chin up. And kissed her. Just very quick and very light to see her reaction.

It was worth it. She shuddered, letting out a long breath, her eyes staying closed. "Blaise, I..."

"Yeah, I know. You think I'm a sexy beast!"

Mawata laughed, hiding her face against his chest. "That's not at all what I was going to say!"

"Hey, just speakin' the truth, love! Me manly nature is infectious."

She laughed again, the blush spreading down her neck. Which he kissed. "Blaise...Shin's here."

"Yeah, and Genie's got his full attention," he answered, but he sat back all the same, still keeping her pressed close to him.

By the end of the movie, Hajime and Mannen had saved their game and gone to bed. Shin had fallen asleep in his bean bag chair and Mawata and Blaise were stretched out on the couch, arms wrapped around each other and asleep as well.

* * *

"I never would have thought it from the start...but that was great!" Kei exclaimed, reaching for Sete's hand as they all left the theater. "Those had to be some of the shittiest movies I have ever had to subject myself to in my entire life!"

"Like I said, you're a masochist," Sete teased, wrapping her other arm around his and resting her chin on his shoulder as they began to walk home.

"See, it's great fun, isn't it?" Himeno joked. She and Hayate had gotten thrown out of the last movie because the same woman complained about them again. They'd gone to the beach for a bit to just walk around until the others were done.

"I had a good time," Yayoi added, both arms wrapped around Feryn's waist.

"Yeah, I'd say so," Kei muttered. Sete elbowed him sharply, giving him a glare that shut him up very quickly.

"What is the time, Hayate?" Feryn asked.

Hayate shook his watch free from the sleeve of his hoody and read it. "It is... about two in the morning. I don't know about you guys, but I'm too tired for anything else!"

"Oh...such a shame," a man's voice drawled from just ahead of them. A silver light flashed and eliminated two men. Both were identical in appearance, only one had silver hair and the other had gold. The silver haired one was dressed in leather pants and a nearly sheer black top. He looked liked he'd just come from a Goth club. The one with gold hair was wearing a soft grey duster coat over grey slacks and a white button up shirt.

"And we were so hoping you would be more fun to play with," the silver haired one pouted, his voice just slightly deeper than the first one.

Feryn pushed Yayoi behind him defensively. The others spread out a little, Hayate keeping within reaching distance of Himeno, in case they needed to pret. "And you two are?" he demanded.

"Ginshima and Kinshima," the silver haired one said, pointing to himself first and then his brother. "We are the Dark Knights of Silver and Gold."

"And let me guess, you've come to kill us," Himeno said sarcastically. "Well, get in line!"

The twins exchanged identical looks and smiles. "Sorry," Kinshima (the one with golden hair) said slowly. "But we just cut to the front." The two surged forward at the same time, matching swords in silver and gold appearing out of thin air. They were aiming not at Himeno but at Kei.

"KEI!" Sete screamed, shoving him aside.

Twin blades went whistling through the air, plunging toward her back.


	8. How Many People Wanna Kick Some Ass?

Chapter 8: How Many People Wanna Kick Some Ass?

Blaise's eyes flew open, looking around the unfamiliar room for a second confused. He blinked in the glow of the TV screen's bluish light, raking his hair back with his fingers. Gawd... what the hell time was it? Someone moving next to him, making a sleepy little moan, made him glance down and see Mawata was still asleep next to him, a small smile on her lips. He couldn't help smiling at that, touching her cheek gently. She looked like a bloody angel sleeping there, her curls all tossled, dark lashes smudging her cheeks. Slowly, he bent down, just barely touching his lips to hers...

And then sat up sharply again when he heard noises outside. Eyes narrowing, he untangled himself from the throw blanket on the couch, swinging his legs up and over the back to the other side. If that was Mannen acting stupid... He froze when he heard the hissing breath, staying perfectly still when a dark shape seemed to press up against the glass sliding door. He thought at first that maybe he'd imagined it...until a faint breath fogged up the glass. Then, he could see the blue eyes so dark that they almost looked black. "Sweet Jaysus, a nightmage!" They weren't supposed to be alive...he'd seen them killed in the last battle! How could this be possible?

Blaise stayed as still as possible, not even daring to breath. He swore his heart was going to break through his chest any minute now. Nightmages were blind unless you moved. Once you did move though, you'd have to hope like hell you were faster than they were. If you were, you were fine. If not... he'd seen many, many Leafe Knights get swallowed up in one of their spells, either left alive and insane or completely destroyed. Blaise waited, drawing leafe to him as carefully as possible so the nightmage didn't sense it.

There was the sound of nails trailing along the glass, a bluish grey hand leaving a trail of black sludge in it's wake. The door slid open and a shadowed shape stepped into the room, lips pulled back in a tight grin showing off rows of sharp teeth, blank blue eyes sweeping around the room. the nightmage looked over it's shoulder and made a motion with it's sore-covered hand. The smell of rotting flesh filled the room, sick and heavy with a hint of metalic-sweetness to it. Blaise managed to hold back his cough but it was difficult and he knew it was going to burst soon.

"Where issss the little one?" a second nightmage asked, peering over the shoulder of the first.

"The misstresss sssaid he wasss here," the first answered, voice rasping and sounding on the brink of death.

The little one? Who the bloody hell were they talking about? He knew Shimura would never refer to Himeno as the 'little one'. She was too proper for that, even if she was a demented psycho-hag! So that would mean...his eyes drifted over to the bean bag, where Shin mercifully still slept. Oh, no...

"She wantsss him, and wantsss him now," the second said sharply, nudging the first further into the room.

"We mussst find him firssst," the first one said as a grumpy reply. They began to limp further into the room, a thick black ooze dripping from their rotting arms.

Blaise waited still, squeezing his eyes closed to keep the cough in. They were almost up on him. Just a little further and... With a low growl, he ran at them, pulling all the leafe he'd stored up and making the ground outside rise up, close around them and drag them out of the house. He followed them out into the night, jaw set tightly and eyes blazing with anger. Only to skid to a hault, leafe still working. Oh holy shit...

The rest of the nightmages, all thirty of them, turned dull blue eyes to Blaise, letting out angry hisses and choked cries. This...wasn't good!

* * *

"KEI!" Sete screamed, shoving him aside.

Twin blades went whistling through the air, plunging toward her back.

There was a loud roar of sound, like the ocean waves rolling in, and then a spear with a huge silver blade came flashing out of nowhere. Everyone, even the Dark Knights, had covered their ears at the initial blast of noise. The spear almost took the twins in the chest, but they managed to turn their leafe to matching silver and gold shields just in time.

Himeno uncovered her ears, peering around Hayate's shoulder. "Pasha?"

Pasha, the Pretear for the India team, smiled at her. "Hello, Himeno! It has been a while, has it not?" She was dressed all in blues and greens, like deep water moving over and around her. The rest of her team, all except the captain, Ravijot, were fanned out around her, ready for a fight. Ravijot must have preted with Pasha, since his leafe was of the ocean waters.

"Talk about good timing," Kei exclaimed, holding Sete loosely in his arms.

The Dark Knights stood facing both their enemies, backs pressed together and holding swords again. "Well, this is hardly fair," Ginshima (the silver haired one) said in a heavy drawl, smiling slowly. "What's the count now... fifteen Leafe Knights and two Pretears against two Dark Knights?"

"Yes, very unfair indeed," Kinshima (the golden haired one) added, eyes narrowed warily.

"You attacked first, and without warning. It was unfair of you," Feryn replied, lips twisted in an ugly sneer.

Ginshima smiled cruelly. "My, what ever happened to your face, Knight of Storms?" he asked sarcastically.

"Are we just going to stand around, or are we going to fight?" Kuda, Ravijot's second, growled out. His eyes, usually a solid brown, were now almost golden colored, pupils slitted like an animals. Himeno shuddered when she noticed the slightly fanged teeth. That was the first she'd ever heard of a Leafe Knight changing shape!

"Oo, let's do fight, shall we?" Kinshima purred mockingly.

Kuda snarled and dove forward.

"KUDA! Kuda, NO!" Pasha screamed, flinging the spear just in time to stop the golded sword from tearing right through the Knight of Animals.

Kuda twisted to the side in a near-impossible maneuver, landing on his hands and feet, crouched low.

"Kuda, get a hold of yourself," Hayate shouted. "Don't you see? They WANT you to attack!"

"Too smart, Knight of Winds," Ginshima laughed, swinging his sword over his head.

Hayate called his sword up and blocked the silver blade from connecting. Himeno pushed passed him and managed to land a low kick to his knees.

Ginshima seemed momentarily surprised before he drew back, limping only a little. "Kinshima?"

"We're done," his twin answered.

Both winked out in silver and gold light.

"Damned cowards!" Kei shouted, glaring at where the two had been.

Pasha and Ravijot unpreted, the Knight of Oceans grinning as he went over and gave Hayate a quick hug. "It's been a little while, but I see you're still causing trouble!"

"Causing it? Hardly!" Hayate answered, stepping back. "I see you got my message?"

Ravijot frowned, his blue-green eyes crinkling a little in thought. "Your...message?"

"Umm...I didn't exactly go yet, Hayate," Sete said quietly from Kei's arms.

Hayate turned to her, smile fading. "You...didn't? Then how...why...?"

"My orders came from the Topaz Prince," Ravijot said softly. "He said to get over here right away."

"But... that's not-," Hayate was cut off as a bright white object pierced the sky, shooting up and up. It was a spire of ice, a signal that the house was under attack. "Mannen!" He grabbed Himeno's wrist and took off flying into the night sky, the other knights following close behind.

* * *

Blaise gritted his teeth hard as his body was thrown clean into the side of the house. He slid down the side, clutching his arm to his chest where deep claws had torn through. 'Ya bloody bastards! This was me best Beetles t-shirt and now ya've gone and torn it from me sexy chest! Lay off the clothing, mates!" He slammed his palm hard into the ground and rows upon rows of hard earthen spikes rose out of nowhere to move almost faster than the eye could see at the nightmages swarming all over. He had to keep them out of the house, away from the others... especially Shin!

"BLAISE!" Ice darts shot out of the darkness as Mannen came flying from his window, still in his pajamas and eyes more fierce than he had ever seen them.

"YA LITTLE GIT! SEND A BLOODY SIGNAL INTO THE BLOODY SKY RIGHT BLOODY NOW!" Blaise roared, flicking his wrist and pulling the earth up with it in a giant wave.

"Whoa! What the heck is that?"

"Argh...MANNEN, YA PRAT! SIGNAL! NOW!"

Mannen swerved the slashing hand of a nightmage and threw everything he had into building a pillar of ice straight up, as high as he could.

That was all they could do, and hope like hell the others were done with their date in time. With as much leafe as he was using, he couldn't send a signal that way. Blaise rolled across the ground, avoiding the dark spell nets being thrown at him. All it would take was one net and he'd be done. Shimura would have him and everything would be done.

"Leave him alone! Shin, a containment field!" Mannen shouted.

Blaise looked up, eyes wide in horror. Shin...and Mawata! NO! Hajime was weaving around with Mannen, distracting the nightmages as best they could. Hayate had taught them very well, he thought before he dove across the ground, threw his hand up to raise a shield and landed on Mawata and Shin, pulling them to the ground. 'Ya've gotta get Shin outta here, Mawata," Blaise yelled, dragging them into the house. He opened a portal into Leafenia, and shoved them toward it.

Mawata looked terrified, and Shin looked ready to cry. "But...But, Blaise!"

"I don't have time! Listen, get to the other side and when you're there, just scream as loud as you can fer Saeko! He'll help you over there. And tell him I sent you, okay?"

She nodded, tears in her eyes. Tugging Shin's hand, she pulled the Knight of Plants through. Shin struggled, trying to go back to Blaise, but he wasn't as strong as Mawata. They soon disappeared into the white light.

Once they were through, Blaise closed the portal and turned just in time to duck a spell net. "Now yer askin' fer it, mate! I was havin' a bloody good evenin' 'til you showed yer ugly face!" With another sweep of his hand the floor erupted in an explosion of earth and rock, cascading on the nightmages trying to surround him, ripping their dead bodies to pieces and scattering them outside. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and stepped outside again. And, when he opened his eyes again...

"Right, now ya've gone and pissed me off!" He let loose everything he had, ripping the ground to pieces, sending chunks of hardened dirt and solid rocks slamming around in a whirlwind around him. Mannen and Hajime quickly dove out of the way, catching any nightmages trying to escape and throwing them back into the jumble.

"BLAISE! Stop it, NOW!"

Blaise looked over as Hayate and the others came back, Hayate and Himeno preting midair. There was another flash, and he saw Pasha as well as the rest of the India team. "Right good timing, mates," he hollered, dropping the whirlwind. He also dropped to his knees, tired. Man, what a work out that was!

"Pasha, go left!" Himeno instructed, sending out wind shards as well as hacking at the nightmages with her sword. Kei sent up a shower of brilliant golden lights, flooding the area. The nightmages howled, covering their blind eyes from the painful light. They made a hasty retreat into the shadows, fading away into nothing.

Once everyone was on the ground again, the two Pretears unpreted, Pasha and Himeno hugging each other happily. Himeno introduced the Indian girl to Yayoi and soon the three girls were chatting away as if nothing had happened.

Hayate and Ravijot went over to Blaise, helping him to his feet, "I have never seen a plant leafe work like that before," Ravijot said admiringly. "Truly amazing, my friend!"

"Yeah...I'm a bloody genius," Blaise grumbled, wincing when his chest was pulled tight. "Oi, Sete, love...would you mind much fixin' me gorgeous self?"

Sete rolled her eyes and came over. Kei and Kuda were leading a search of the house to see if maybe some of the nighmages had remained inside. "Are you sure it's not head trauma? Because after that bullshit you just spewed about being gorgeous, I'm beginning to wonder."

"Heartless wench," Blaise answered with a grin. His breath caught as her leafe touched him, making his skin warm and kind of tingly. After the green glow faded, his chest was healed completely, not even a scar to be seen. "Argh...you couldn't have left me a manly bit o' scarring there?"

She walked away, shaking her head and putting both hands in the air in a sign of surrender. "I can't deal with this much arrogance in one night! You two keep him away from me, or I'm gonna rack him!"

"God, she's bloody fine," Blaise muttered. He yelped when Hayate smacked him on the back of the head.

"We'll talk later," he practically snarled. Blaise nodded, swallowing passed the lump in his throat. Hayate was really mad...

"Everything's clear inside," Kei reported as he and the India group came back out. "Where are Shin and Mawata?"

That got everyone's attention. Himeno's eyes widened as she scanned all the faces in the back of the house. "Mawata? Mawata! Where is she?"

"Oh...right," Blaise said, cringing. "See, the nightmages were after Shin for some reason...and to get them outta here I sorta...kinda...sentthembothtoLeafenia." He said the last very quickly, wincing at the sudden tensing in both Hayate's and Ravijot's shoulders.

"You sent a HUMAN to our world?" Ravijot exclaimed.

"She's with Shin!"

"That is no excuse! She's human! She can't be there!"

"Blaise...God...," Hayate groaned, dropping the Englishman. "Please tell me they're at least safe."

Blaise nodded. He didn't want to say who he told them to find.

Hayate met his gaze and they shared a look. It was almost psychic, but it wasn't. They just knew each other that well. Hayate sighed, having guessed correctly what he'd just done. "They'll be back soon enough. Ravijot, where are you guys staying?"

"We managed to scrounge up enough cash and rent a beach house about half a block up from here," Ravijot answered, still not entirely convinced but deciding to ignore it for now. "Otoshi's and Kondhae's teams will be here within the next day or so."

"And what about Erelah?"

Ravijot looked away. "No response as far I as know. Hayate, you don't think he..."

Hayate's mouth set in a firm line, eyes darkening angrily. "It wouldn't surprise me if he did betray us. There's nothing we can do about that now. I suggest we all try and get a little sleep tonight. Something tells me we won't be getting much more very soon." He started to go inside, the rest of his team following him.

"But what about Mawata?" Himeno asked, the worry apparent in her eyes and voice. 'She can't just stay in Leafenia by herself. And Shin, too! He's so little!"

"Trust me, Himeno, they'll be fine," Hayate answered. "They'll be back soon."

Himeno hesitated a little longer before saying good bye to Pasha and going inside. Feryn and Yayoi quickly said goodnight and went upstairs, Yayoi obviously very shaken by all that had happened that night. Hayate put an arm around Himeno's shoulder, kissing the top of her head. "They'll be just fine, Himeno. Stop worrying so much."

"I can't help it," Himeno answered, hugging him back. Mannen was shooing Hajime upstairs, Kei, Sete and Blaise all following behind. "That's my sister over there, and even if she's with Shin, she's still all alone. I'm not gonna sleep until she's back here and safe."

Hayate sighed, hugging her to him and kissing her again. "Okay. We'll wait up together." He sat down on the couch, pulling her down with him.

Himeno smiled, snuggling in against his chest. "Thanks, Hayate." His only answer was a soft little laugh and his fingers combing through her hair.

* * *

Mawata stumbled out the other side, holding Shin to her, and gasping. It may have been evening, but she could tell it was a beautiful place, one full fo color and life. In the distance, she saw something shining white in the darkness, like light reflecting off a pearl. What was that... Shin whimpering by her side got her attention. "It's okay, Shin, I'm here," she said softly, bending down and lifting him up awkwardly.

"I wanna go home," he mumbled, hugging her tightly. "I don't wanna be here without Himeno and Hayate and Kei and..."

"Shh, neither do I. That's why we need to find this Saeko so we can get back." Taking a deep breath and trying not to shake nervously as she held Shin, she shouted, "SAEKO!"

The very air went still and heavy. Not a sound, not even insects to break the absolute calm. And then...

The wind kicked up, swirling around them heavily. Mawata and Shin covered their eyes as sand was blown around them, covering the grass they were standing on in a fine golden wash. When it died down, a man stood before them, very tall and very handsome. His skin had a faint golden cast to it, hair a dark blonde that fell half way down his back in a loose braid. His eyes were the purest amber color and set just as hard as that stone. "Who are you, and be quick," he demanded, voice low and smooth, but not at all friendly. He was dressed all in dark red.

"I-I'm Mawata. And this is Shin. We...we were sent here by...Blaise," Mawata stuttered out, now unable to suppress the shaking. If this was Saeko, he was incredibly terrifying.

Those hard eyes softened a touch, thin lips parted. "Blaise sent you? As in, the Knight of Flowers?"

She nodded, swallowing past the lump in her throat.

Saeko looked away into the night, eyes narrowed. "Come with me. I'll take you somewhere safe for the night. Tomorrow, one of the knights will come and get you. Are you hungry at all?"

Mawata let Shin climb onto her back so they could follow after the swiftly moving knight. "Can I have some cookies and milk?" Shin asked.

Saeko looked back over his shoulder, a slight smile gracing his face. "I'll see what I can do. Are sugar cookies alright? I'm afraid it's too late to wake the kitchens at the palace to make anything else."

"No, I like sugar cookies! They're very sugary-good."

Mawata could have sworn she heard him laugh in response. "Yes, they are. And you, Miss..." his voice trailed off as he waited for her to fill in the gap.

"Oh, Mawata. My name is Mawata."

"Are you hungry as well, Miss Mawata?"

"No, thank you. Umm... may I ask how you know Blaise?"

Saeko glanced again over his shoulder as he lifted a heavy pine branch for them to walk under further into the forest. Mawata stepped through and gasped. There, just ahead of them, was a little cottage tucked away and almost hidden behind the trees. It was almost too picture perfect to be true. A soft glow of light coming from the windows, the straw thatched roof a pale splotch against the dark forest. He led the way down the neat little path lined in flowers, opening the door and letting them in. "Stay here. I'll be back shortly." He shut the door, letting them get used to the little one room house.

Mawata let Shin down, holding his hand. There was a big, cheerful fire going, casting a warm glow around the room. In front of the fire was a small woven rug of flowers, a little table, two very big, over stuffed chairs and a chaise lounge, all in rich yellows and oranges. Behind all this was a simple kitchen with stone counter tops and carved wooden cabinets. There was nothing like a refridgerator or a stove, though. Tucked away and partiall hidden by a section closed off with a curtain was a small bed, the sheets and quilt a little rumpled.

"Shin, do you know where this is?" Mawata asked, taking him over to one of the chairs and sitting down. It was so big they could sit side by side comfortably.

"Uh-uh," Shin answered, shaking his head. He yawned, covering it with his hand, and leaned his head back against her shoulder. "I'm sleepy...Mawata, can you wake me up when he brings my cookies, please?"

She smiled, hugging him and placing her head on his, closing her eyes. "Yes...I will." But she knew as soon as she said it that she wasn't going to stay awake long enough to fulfill her promise. Her last thoughts were to hope and pray that Blaise was still alive.

* * *

_"Hayate! Get down now!"_

_Hayate whirled around in what almost felt like slow motion, blood splattered all over him, none of it his yet. He heard the frantic shout as Otoshi sent a Volcanic Mace whipping right where his head would have been if he hadn't ducked. The nightmage behind him whithered in a pile of dust. He rolled away from the hell hound, leash being held by a huge troll-demon, it's fangs dripping blood and saliva. He swung his sword, felt it sink home and sever the hell hound's head clean off before he swiped it back and up, piercing right through the troll-demon's thick hide. More blood rained down on him, and he wiped it from his eyes on his sleeve, pushing to his feet and searching frantically._

_Blaise...Saeko...the Topaz Prince...where was everyone? He spotted Kei a little further away with their captain, Lison, both back to back, their leafe powers flying every which way they could. Lison was the Knight of Plants. "Sasame, Takako! Find the Prince!"_

_Takako went flying on ahead, having preted with Sasame. She was very new as their pretear. And very young. But he'd found her, and he knew she had the potential to be great, maybe the greatest Pretear in recent years. He returned his attention to the battle, diving into the air as a poisoned dart was fired, slashing back with solid blasts of air, ripping the dwarf almost clean in half, it's ugly face twisted into an even more gruesome death-grimace. The battle had been going on for ages, and the Leafe Knights were all exhausted. And still there was no end in sight for these nightmarish figures._

_He looked up when he heard a high-pitched creaming noise, eyes widening as a black chariot pulled by two black scaled dragons came charging through the air. The figure in the back was that of a very slight girl, one who shouldn't be strong enough to control two fully grown dragons. Her pale silvery-blonde hair streamed behind her, the white of her skin and her dress almost blending in a ghostly shroud...and she was was smiling. No...she was LAUGHING! "Shimura! The Queen of Nightmares has come!"_

_"Stay your ground!" Caias ordered his team firmly. They did as he commanded, his Pretear standing next to him and looking ready to panic._

_Hayate didn't blame her. The Queen of Nightmare's powers had nearly tripled since she first came into existance, and a trail of terror spread before her like a dark blanket. He felt almost frozen, paralyzed by fear as that chariot sped through the air, her great sword working from side to side, cutting down any and all knights, even her own, who stood in her way, laughing as if this were the most amusing thing she'd ever seen in years._

_"Hayate, get out of there now," Goh shouted. He was very young, not even fully grown yet, but using his leafe as effectively as most mature knights. "Lison called for us to leave now!"_

_"What about Caias' team?" he shouted back, diving for the ground as a blast of fire almost singed his hair clean off. The dragons were blasting at the ground._

_Goh deflected the fire easily, scowling at the beasts. "Hey, we're practically brothers here, you stupid lizards! What'dcha go and do that for, huh?"_

_"Hayate! Hayate, I found them!"_

_Hayate turned to Takako's exultant tone, saw her flying at him eagerly. The chariot circled around. Shimura had seen her as well. No... not their new Pretear! "TAKAKO!"_

_Takako looked up in time to see her danger, green eyes flying wide. "AHHHH!" There was a pale flash of silvery white light as Sasame flung a hasty shield up, taking the entire brunt of the attack upon himself._

_"SASAME! Takako, get out of there now! Which way?"_

_Takako, shaken badly by how close that attack had been, landed. Sasame unpreted with her, falling to the ground and screaming in pain, his clothing almost melted completely to his chest. Sete ran over quickly, guarded by Lison, Kimmet (another from their team) and Ravijot. She began to heal him at once, pealing away burnt cloth so she could better access the wounds. Takako pointed a shaky finger in one direction before she fell into Lison's arms, crying hysterically._

_Hayate took off in the direction she pointed, heading for the forest. He could hear the familiar sounds of battle, even out in this normally secluded spot._

_"And take that, ya bloody git! And that, and that! Oi! OI! Ya pervy bastard, th' next thing ya send at me balls had better be female and quite pretty, got it?" He knew that voice well enough. Blaise, his adoptive brother, sort of. Right now, he was denying any connection with the foul mouthed Englishman._

_"Must you continue on like that?" Saeko's voice demanded coldly. Saeko was the Knight of Sands, almost as powerful as the Topaz Prince._

_"Aww...is me gutter speach offensive to the royal ears?" Blaise mocked._

_Hayate flew in on the battle, saw them surrounded by Dark Knights. Sand storms raged, vines were flung everywhere, the earth was spilling up its crystals to make glittering weapons. "Blaise, Saeko-,"_

_"Oi, duck mate! Some crazed bitch is hot on yer heels," Blaise roared, flinging a wrist out._

_Hayate looked over his shoudler and rolled away midair to avoid the dragons directly behind him. He became dizzy, fell and slammed shoulder first into the ground, continuing the rolling momentum away from the imminent crash. No..._

_"Let her come! She's all mine," someone said in a dangerous tone. There was a loud **BOOM**, a scream that seemed to rip the very air wide open._

_He covered his head at the initial explosion, the dust rising in the air and settling down around him. When he could pick his head up, he coughed, choking on the dust still in the air. He stood up, crying out when shooting pain went up his right leg. His leg...it was broken. he still managed to hobble over, closing in on the jumble of bodies, the wreck of the chariot and the dragons. Another knight rose from nearby. Otoshi! The two exchanged glances and continued on, moving closer to the chaos. The Topaz Prince...if they failed to protect him..._

_**Wait...this is a dream...why am I dreaming of this?**_

_There was the sound of tinkling laughter. "Just a little more, Knight of Winds. Let me see what happened that day from your beautiful blue eyes..."_

_**That was never said...that part didn't happen here. What...SHIMURA! No, no, no...**_

"NO!" Hayate sat up, shaking, sweat dripping from his brow. No... Shimura... She was in his head, making him dream about that day, so long ago... He wiped his eyes, hands shaking, still breathing hard. "God...Oh, God!"

Himeno opened her eyes, sitting up slowly. "Hayate?" she asked, voice hoarse from sleep. She frowned, blinking in confusion when she saw how pale he was, how badly he was shaking. 'Hayate, what's wrong?"

Slowly, he shook his head. "Nothing...nothing. It's okay, Himeno. Everything is fine." Or was it? That had been close...TOO close! He'd been lucky this time, had managed to wake himself up. He managed to kiss her cheek absently, lying back down on the couch and holding her to him. She was wearing some kind of perfume, one that smelled like roses. It made him smile, chasing away the horror of having Shimura messing around with his head. "You smell so good," he murmured, burying his face in her neck. Except...he couldn't smell it on her.

"Uh...thanks? I didn't know you liked deordorant so much," she laughed softly, arms wrapping around his neck.

"Your deodorant smells like roses?" he asked.

Himeno froze, completely still against him. "R-roses? Did... d-d-did you just say...roses?" she asked, voice barely working.

"Yes...it smells amazing. I didn't think you liked perfume."

She pushed him back, sitting up with something close to an insane panic on her face. She leaned forward, taking shallow breaths. She was beginning to hyperventilate. "Himeno? Himeno!"

"Roses...my mother...my mother...roses," she gasped out, fingers buried in her hair, pulling on it hard. Her shoulder began to shake with dry sobs.

Hayate sat up, swallowing heavily. Her mother? He suddenly understood, leaning over her and hugging her to him. Her mother had worn rose scented perfume. "Himeno..." She didn't seem to hear him as she continued to cry softly, pressing agains the sides of her head as if she could push those thoughts out and away from her. "Himeno, I'm so sorry!" He held her as close as he could, rocking her gently back and forth to try and calm her down enough to at least breath. What was Shimura doing to her? WHY was she doing this to her? Himeno had already been through a lot, why make her go through it again? What was the point of driving her insane with all this?

If it was the last thing he did, he would kill Shimura for doing this to Himeno.


	9. Memories Like Quicksand

CHAPTER 9: Memories Like Quicksand

Sete caught the dirty shirt flung up carelessly from the laundry room, eyebrow arched. She had her own laundry basket tucked between her arm and her hip and was looking at someone's ass hanging from one of the hampers. Dropping the shirt, Sete craned her neck for a better angle of the person's rear. Mmm...Hayate. That was definately Hayate's ass. "Trying to find your lucky boxers?" she said dryly, setting her own laundry on top of the folding table to sort out.

"OW!" Hayate yelped, having been startled into slamming his head right into the shelf holding dryer sheets and soap. He scowled at Sete, rubbing his head. "No...something else."

"Oh?" She frowned, pushing her hand down through the black thigh-high she was inspecting. There was a large rip going down teh back of it. Damn it, Kei...She threw the pair out angrily. Those had been imported directl from France! She couldn't afford to get another pair any time soon.

Hayate continued to tear through his own laundry, turning pockets inside out and shaking the clothing, listening. "It has to be here somewhere..."

"What did you- oh! Oh, no, you didn't! Hayate, you dumb ass." Sete realized what exactly he was searching for and dropped everything to help him. That wasn't something to be losing so lightly. "Why the hell were you carrying it around in your pocket anyway?"

"Because Himeno could have found it," he snapped. "It's supposed to be a surprise!"

"Well, it won't be if- There! There, there, under that shirt!" Sete dove forward, throwing one of Himeno's tank tops behind her shoulder and grabbing what they were searching for.

Hayate took it from her, letting out a relieved breath, eyes closing thankfully. "I ower you for this, Sete," he said.

Smirking as she stood, up, Sete said, "I'll remember it, believe me. Now go find a better place to hide that thing!"

He left the laundry room quickly, smiling happily.

It wasn't until Sete returned to her own laundry, smiling and shaking her head that she realized he'd left the room in utter chaos. "Arg... MEN!"

* * *

Himeno scowled, putting her hands on her hips and following Hayate angrily as he left their room. "Why can't I go with you?" she demanded.

"Because we don't need you to," he answered. Again. Just as he had the last two times she'd asked to go with him and Blaise to retrieve Mawata and Shin.

"She's my SISTER! What if something happened to her and Shin and I wasn't there?"

Hayate paused halfway down the stairs, looking up at where she glared at him from the second floor. "Himeno, trust me. Mawata and Shin are just fine."

"You don't know that for sure!"

He sighed, rubbing his eyes with one hand. He looked exhausted. "Himeno...you're tired and cranky and that's why you're mad. Please, try to get a little sleep. For me?"

Himeno's scowl grew even darker as she hugged her arms around herself. "I can't sleep! Everytime I close my eyes, something bad happens. And I don't want you leaving me all alone!"

Hayate hesitated a second before climbing back up the stairs. When he was standing in front of her, her eyes glaring holes into his chest, he took a hold of her arm and pulled her back into their room. "I didn't want to do this now," he muttered.

She looked up at the firm set of his jaw and jerked her arm away. "Just what the hell are you doing?" she demanded, aiming a punch for his arm.

He grabbed her fist, stopping the blow. He drew her in to him, pulling her back to the bed. She sat next to him, an odd fluttering feeling in her stomach. "I've actually had this for a while, but every time I wanted to give it to you..." He took a deep breath letting it out and reached into his pocket awkwardly. "Before anything else happens, I want to give you this."

Himeno's jaw dropped. No...no, he better not be doing what she thought he was doing... "Hayate, hold on a-," She stared at the ring he was holding, throat closing off. Air...she needed air. And he needed to get kicked in the knees! "Oh..." Crap! The ring was very beautiful, a little blue sapphire in a silver band with very small diamond chips cirlcing the sapphire to make it look like a star. She closed her eyes when he put it on her finger, swallowing heavily. How was she gonna tell him no? "This...Hayate, I'm not ready for this."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" He sounded confused.

She opened her eyes, took her hand from his and pulled the ring off. "I'm way too young to be engaged. I'm so sorry!" She waited, tense, expecting the pain in his eyes.

Instead, the bastard actually smiled and then started laughing at her. "You think...this is an...engagement ring? So...weird...you're so weird!"

Himeno's scowl returned and she did hit him this time. "Then what the hell is it, jerk?"

He sat up, rubbing his chest where her fist had connected. "Look at the band again, Tulip-head."

She flipped it over, squinting at the tiny script carved into the band of the ring. "_Adamare Aeternitatis_? Damn it, Hayate, I almost failed Latin! Why would you put that on a ring when I can't read it?"

Hayate wasn't laughing now. He moved a little closer to her, his hair brushing against her leg on the bed. "It says 'Love Eternal'. This is a promise ring. All its for is to remind you that, for as long as I live, I will always love you."

Himeno gasped, covering her mouth. She'd just yelled and hit him...and all he was trying to say is that he loved her! "Hayate..." She put the ring back on, turning to look into his blue eyes.

"So you see, I'm not leaving you, not ever. You're stuck with me, Himeno. Unfortunately for both of us!"

Laughing and wiping at her eyes, she cupped his face in both her hands, kissing him soundly. The guy was such a jerk at times...but he was her jerk and she loved him, too. Drawing back a little, and sniffling, she said, "You better not leave me, cuz I'll hunt you down and drag you back by that hair of yours!"

He smiled quickly before kissing her again. She protested when he stood up, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet. "I can't believe you thought I was proposing to you!"

"What was I supposed to think when you're all like, 'Oh, I want to give you something,' and pull out a friggin' ring?" she demanded, making her voice deeper to mock him.

Laughing and tucking her under his arm, he kissed her forehead. "Such a Tulip-head!" Her elbow in his stomach got him to shut up very quickly.

* * *

Blaise grinned wickedly as he and Hayate stepped out the other end. "So...did she cry?" he asked slyly.

Hayate's lips twitched into a little smile before he could hide it. "She did."

Laughin loudly, Blaise clapped him on the back hard. "You're such a bloody romantic!"

Cheeks red, eyes very focused on the ground as they walked, Hayate muttered, "You're lucky you're my friend."

"So are you," Blaise replied. He gave Hayate a very meaningful look. It made the Knight of Wind shift in annoyance, hands balling into fists.

The air right in front of them stirred and the two covered their eyes as bits of sand flew into their faces. When the wind settled down again, Blaise lowered his arm, spitting sand from his mouth. "Do you always have to make such a bloody entrance?" he snarled, glaring at the man standing before them.

Saeko didn't so much as crack a smile. His amber eyes remained as solemn as always as he studied the two in front of him. "Forgive me. I meant no disrespect."

Smiling again, Blaise wiped his sleeves off. Hayate was still shaking his hair out, muttering about how inconvenient it was. "No worries. So...are they safe?"

"Of course! You had doubts of my abilities?" Saeko walked on Blaise's other side, frowning even further at the implied insult.

"No, no, just checkin'! How's little Shin doing?"

"Fine. He just had some more cookies-,"

"More?" Hayate asked, startled. "Just how many cookies did you give him, Saeko?"

Saeko's amber eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He began to count on his fingers, golden hair flicking about in the breeze. "I'd say...twenty or so between last night and this afternoon."

"TWENTY COOKIES?"

Blaise started laughing, hugging his sides. "Don't ever have kids, mate! You'd kill 'em!"

Saeko's eyes hardened angrily, fist bunching. "How was I supposed to know?" he muttered.

Blaise was still laughing as they entered the forest, very easily finding the over grown path. He could have walked it blindfolded, backward and in his sleep. The cottage was especially well known to him, he thought with a grimace. Many days stuck inside with nothing to do... "Aww, ya ripped up me peonies! Ya bloody bastard!"

"YOU killed them! I merely replaced their dead stalks," Saeko pointed out quickly. The tiny freesia blooms added a nice perfume to the area.

"And you painted the shutters," Hayate added, silently approving the dark green color against the earthy brown bricks.

"GREEN? I HATE GREEN!"

The other two ignored Blaise as he went off on a diatribe of how awful green was and why Saeko would to that to such a lovely place. A round little face appeared at the window, grinning happily before disappearing from view. The door opened and Shin came running from the house, green eyes lit up bright in delight. "Hayate! Blaise! Hiiiiii!" He threw himself right around Blaise's legs, hugging for all he was worth.

"Oi, poppet, lemme go! Gotta see if Mawata's doin'g alright," Blaise growled, but he was smiling gently at the young knight.

Shin giggled and let go to throw himself around Hayate's leg. "Where's Himeno?" he asked, searching around for his Pretear.

Hayate smiled, ruffling his hair. "She's sleeping. She had a rough night."

Blaise quickly walked away, muttering about 'her bloody rough _knight_'. Saeko's jaw dropped in shock, lightly tanned cheeks burning red. "He's gotten worse than before," he commented as Hayate let Shin go chasing after tyipi.

"He's just being an idiot," Hayate replied, watching the Knight of Plants squeal and run away from the flock now chasing him. "Shimura tried to discover the truth."

That had Saeko's attention fully. "And?" he asked sharply.

"She didn't find it. I barely realized in time that it was a dream, though. And...she's been targeting Himeno severely so." He told the Knight of Sand very briefly about the dreams and the odd footprints.

Saeko was silent the entirely time, staring off at the cottage. The door was shut again and no sign of Blaise or Mawata coming out any time soon. Sighing, he stared at his tan boots, scuffing the toe of one into the grass. "This is not good. If she captures the White Pretear, none of us stands a chance against her! We don't have a Pretear at this time strong enough to stand up against the Queen of Nightmares. Himeno MUST be kept safe!"

"I'm trying, but there's only so much I can do. I can call her back but it's been draining me..." He gasped when Saeko turned him sharply by the shoulders, eyes studying him closely.

"Hayate...be careful. You look a little faded."

Hayate smiled and nodded, shrugging his hands off. "I am being careful."

Saeko looked at him as if he didn't believe him, but he let it drop all the same. "I wonder what's keeping them so long," he muttered, going over to the cottage and opening the door.

* * *

Blaise left the three other knights outside, grinning to himself. He had something more important to see to. He opened the door to the cottage, shutting it quietly behind him. Mawata was in the kitchen, doing up some dishes. The smile turned evil as he snuck up behind her, moving to stand just at her back, not touching her, but very close.

Mawata was humming to herself, oblivious to the fact she had an audience. She rinsed the plates and put them in a strainer, drying her hands on the dish towel before turning around. "AHHHH!" She slid down the cabinet sides, falling to the floor and covering her mouth in horror.

Laughing, Blaise helped her to her feet, holding her to him as she took deep gulping breathes. Her heart was slamming against her chest so hard he could feel it in his ribs. "Sorry, love! So sorry!"

"You...you...ooooo!" Mawata relaxed enough to put her arms hesitantly around his waist. "You scared me so bad, Blaise!"

He chuckled, hugging her closer. "But was that ever funny! Aw, come here..." He pulled her back when she tried to push away.

"That was so cruel!" She came back all the same, eyes sparkling with laughter.

She was too cute to resist. Blaise leaned down, kissing her lips. Mawata smiled against his mouth, arms circling his neck now. He pulled away just enough to joke, "Knew you thought I was a sexy beast!" Her laughter vibrated against his lips as he kissed her again.

"Ahem!"

Both of them jumped apart quickly at the noise. Saeko and Hayate stood in the doorway, Hayate looking away, cheeks a little red. Saeko was giving them a very stern glare. "This is hardly the time to be romancing," he bit out.

Blaise rolled his eyes. He was used to these little speeches. "Yeah, yeah...You two done gossiping yet? Cuz this pretty gal would really like to go home with me!"

Mawata's face turned redder than even Hayate's and she looked at the floor. Saeko's frown grew even darker.

"Honestly...If I didn't take an oath..." The Knight of Sand let the threat trail off unfinished.

Keeping one arm around Mawata, Blaise guided her out of the cottage and down to where Shin and tyipi were waiting for them to open a portal and guide them back into the real world.

* * *

Kei knocked again at the door, frowning. "Himeno? Hey, Yayoi made lunch. I brought it up for you. Himeno?" Nothing again. Sighing, he tried the doorknob, even though he knew already it was locked. "Himeno, come on and open up! You're starting to scare me a little." STILL nothing. Setting the tray down, he went to his won room, going ove to the dresser and pulling out Sete's make-up kit. She had to have it...yes, here it was! He opened the little pack of hair pins and pulled one out. Perfect! He went quickly back to Himeno's door, straightening the pin and inserted it into the tiny hole in the door knob. There was a soft click and Kei stood up, pleased with himself. He was just too damn smart sometimes!

He twisted the doorknob. "You better be decent, Himeno..." He froze in the door way. What...the... "SHIT!"

Silvery eyes flickered over to him and then...

Kei screamed as a burst of sound exploded and sent him careening over the railing to the stairs. The floor was rising quickly to meet him and he only had a few seconds in which to panic before he hit with a thud and everything went black. The last thing that stuck in his mind was the woman...and her kind smile. What the hell?

* * *

Himeno lay on the bed, eyes closed tightly, hugging herself and trying not to see, not to hear. _Hayate...Hayate, please come back!_ Almost as soon as he left and she came up here, memories came pounding back, mixing with her dreams until they formed something she was trying to escape from. They sucked at her, trying to keep her there. Himeno shivered, curling her knees up tighter to her chest. This must be what it feels like to be stuck in quicksand, always on the edge of getting free, never able to. Why couldn't she get free?

The bed dipped and she whimpered when she felt gentle fingers brushing through her hair. "Himeno? Himeno, look at me!"

Himeno gasped, eyes flying wide open. No...not that! Slowly, she turned over, tears trembling in her eyes. This wasn't possible...there was no way... The smell of roses filled the room. A whimper broke from her throat and then the tears fell.

That smile...those eyes...no, it wasn't real...but she could feel it like it WAS real...no...maybe... "Mom?" she whispered.

Her mother's smile grew warmer. Sasame and Goh stood by the door, silent and unblinking. Himeno turned as her mother touched her cheek, pushing pieces of her hair away. "Hello, darling! I can't believe how much you've grown."

Himeno sat up, wailing, burying her face against that familiar neck, holding her mother close. "Mom...mom, you came back!"

"Shh...don't worry, darling. I'm not going to let you go." Himeno cried and cried and couldn't stop crying. Her mom...she was here!

"Someone's coming," Sasame said softly. "Someone evil. They're here to take your mother away again." Both he and Goh looked to Himeno for orders.

Opening her eyes, she still held her mother as tight as possible. "Kill them."


	10. Not Again!

CHAPTER 10: Not Again!

The three knights watched Mawata and Shin bouncing just ahead of them, Shin talking a mile a minute to Mawata about different plants and the girl pretending to understand him. It made Blaise smile and quickly look at his heavy boots so the other two wouldn't see. "So, Saeko? What's been going on?"

Saeko sighed, flicking his soft golden hair back again. Him and Hayate... they should either pull it back tightly or cut the bloody stuff off! "The Queen of Nightmares' army has become extremely powerful. She's gathered every sort of creature possible, and even a few from Leafenia. Erelah's team was spotted there as well. Their Pretear... so ineffectual! Why doesn't she DO something with him?"

"She can't," Blaise answered at once, feeling sorry for the poor girl. The Pretears were chosen for the teams by the team. Erikur chose a weak girl on purpose. The Knight of Mimicry knew a strong one (like Himeno) would have challenged his authority, and rightly so considering. He forgot that it was usually the ones with spunk that turned out to be bloody brilliant Pretears. How that man ever became a captain was beyond him! As much as he despised Tasia from the States, she was good at her job. Almost scary good. Until he'd met Himeno, he would have said she would be the one to return the legendary White Pretear to them. Himeno... "Hayate, how's Himeno doing?"

Hayate was silent for a long time, face turned away to look at the purplish mountains in the distance. Shimura's land. "I don't know. One minute, everything's fine and the next she's close to breaking. I know Shimura's been giving her nightmares about... about what had happened to the other knights. What troubles me is that she didn't tell anyone it was still bothering her."

Neither knight needed an explaination about the event. It was in reference to Sasame and Goh dying, and Takako returning to being the Princess of Disaster and being sealed away again. Saeko shielded his eyes as he looked into the setting sun. "If we expect to defeat Shimura, we need the White Pretear. The other teams combined can take care of the army. But Shimura herself..."

Blaise's hand twitched irritably. Saeko didn't need to go into that. He knew first hand what Shimura was like. Standing in her presence made you want to piss yourself. Having that sword of hers swing at you made you want to kneel down and take the blow, just to escape. And if you fought back... He shivered, hugging his arms around his waist. The Queen of Nightmares truly was the most awful thing this side of Hell. "Hayate, how straining is it to keep half-preting with Himeno to pull her back? And be bloody honest, mate, because right about now you're all we have keepin' the White Pretear here."

"It's a strain... but it's not too bad. I can recover quickly from it, quicker if we fully pret. Don't worry about that. Worry about-,"

All three stopped as all the sound in the area seemed to be sucked up, a pressure building in their chests. Shin wailed and clung to Mawata, who fell to her knees, eyes wide. It was as if the very air became heavy with humidity, pressing down around them. Like bugs being squished, Blaise thought unpleasantly. Then, it was all released at once, slamming into them and toppling them to the ground, forcing them to cover their ears at the high pitched screeching sound that ripped into their minds, hurting their eyes. It carried on and on, the wind picking up and tearing at the earth and trees, tugging hard at them. Blaise managed to crack an eye open and see Mawata clinging to Shin, trying to keep them both rooted in one spot. Then, just as sudden as the storm hit it stopped, everything fluttering back into place and returning to normal except...

Blaise jumped to his feet, followed quickly by the other two as a black fog began to decend the mountains, blanketing Leafenia with it's inky thickness. "Oh...bloody...hell..." The purple mountains were smeared with the ooze, the ground shaking as if there were an earthquake. But this wasn't an earthquake at all. The pounding on the earth had a steady rhythme... like thousands of feet marching in line.

Saeko's amber eyes threatend to fall from his head. "It's Shimura... She's attacking!" He dropped to one knee in front of the other two, head bowed. "What are your orders?"

"She can't be ready! How the bloody hell could she be ready so soon?" Blaise shouted, kicking at the loose grass angrily. Bloody, bloody, BLOODY HELL! Things were moving a lot faster than he'd thought. That blackness was caused by Shimura herself descending into Leafenia. She was destroying it, and at an alarming rate, too!

"Blaise?" Hayate prompted, glaring at his friend from the corner of his eye. It was then he realized that Saeko was still kneeling and Hayate was waiting patiently.

Blaise blinked, snapping out of his angry thoughts. "Summon the teams, get them gathered at the Palace. Hayate, you and your team come up with the Red Guard. Otoshi's team can take left front. Try and find where Erikur's team is stationed and pit him against Kondhae. Kondhae's team slaughter the little bastards at the last spring games." His eyes flickered over to Mawata, listening to the exchange with a puzzled little crease on her brow.

"Blaise?" The knight looked down at Shin's frantic tugging.

"Yeah, poppet?" He smiled in what he hoped was a comforting way. From the way the little one's eyes welled up even faster, it was obvious he'd failed.

"The plants are dying! Can't you feel it?" Shin's eyes were glassy looking with tears. He wiped his nose on his sleeve, which he normally would have been chastized for except that it was obvious he was being hurt.

Blaise ruffled his hair and lied quickly. "Of course, poppet! But that's why I wanna tar this bi- this evil woman's bottom 'til she says she's sorry!"

The other two knights and Mawata let out their held breaths, relieved he'd edited what he was going to say. "Saeko?" The question was enough to get the Knight of Sand up and at attention.

"Consider it done, sir. And am I..."

Shaking his head, Blaise gave him a cold smile. "Nope! What's the point anymore? I'll be there, mate. And you can stop pretendin' to be dead."

Saeko nodded before winking out.

"Hayate, a gateway, if you please." There was so much to do still...Ravijot and Pasha were at the beach. They had to hurry and get Himeno ready as well. IF she wasn't in freak-out mode...

Hayate nodded and opened the gateway between the real world and Leafenia. The Knight of Wind took Shin through first, giving Blaise a knowing look. Blaise sighed, shifting next to Mawata uncomfortably. "So, love..." This was going to be awkward...

"Blaise... what's going on?" Mawata asked. Her eyes were narrowed suspiciously.

"Oh, you know, raging psycho bitch decided she wants to play rough. That's all!" God, don't let her ask... if she asked, he didn't know what to tell her...

"No, I mean... yes, that's obvious. But you were acting awfully different just now. What's going on with _you_?"

Sighing, Blaise's shoulders slumped. Damn... He was kind of hoping she missed that. "Mawata, love... I think we better clear somethin' up now. See, the thing is... I'm not who you think I am."

She arched a brow, lips tightly closed, waiting. She wasn't angry... yet.

"The truth is... I'm an escaped clown from the circus, hidin' out until they agree to get rid o' that bloody elephant that constantly sends the wind o' death at me trailer car!"

Those pursed lips twitched a little as she fought not to smile. It broke through anyway and she shook her head, curls bouncing. "A clown, huh?"

Grinning, he shrugged. "What, don't ya see in wearin' them big pants and all?" Once again, sheer charm saved his ass!

Mawata poked his stomach, still smiling softly. "Seriously now. What's your secret?"

"My secret?"

She nodded, eyes losing their laughter and being replaced with a steady calm. "Yes. I want to know."

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Blaise glanced away, trying to think of something else. Damn her for not being completely swept away by his humor! His eyes fell on the gateway and he seized on it as a distraction. "We should be gettin' back, love. They're all waitin' for us."

Mawata's eyes narrowed. She wasn't falling for it. Sighing, she nodded, very reluctant. "Fine, you don't need to tell me now. But before all this is over, okay?"

Blaise smiled, kissing her cheek very quickly before grabbing her hand. "Thanks! You're such a doll!" He guided her through the gateway, relieved he'd bought a little more time. This was something she might not like at all!

* * *

Himeno blinked, looking up at the startling sound. "What... are they gone, Sasame?" she asked.

Sasame's familiar gentle eyes turned to her and he smiled, the light catching on his glasses. "Yes, they are. But we should move you both somewhere more safe. This place is very dangerous for your mother."

Her hands tightened on her mom's sleeves. Her mom laugh softly, just like she always did when something was wrong. It made her heart clench up. No... not again. "We need to leave, mom. Before someone hurts you."

Her mom kissed her forehead with cold lips. But... her kisses were always warm... she shook her head, clearing the confusion. What did it matter if they weren't as warm as she remembered? What mattered was they were together and nothing was going to keep them apart. "I trust you, Himeno-darling. And I will never leave your side."

Himeno smiled and stood up with her mom's arms still hugging her. Goh and Sasame stepped forward, both smiling. Goh waved a hand in the air and a dark doorway entered, opening up into a swirling violet and black tunnel. She frowned, hesitating. This wasn't a gateway... Sasame had taken her mom's hand, guiding her toward the door. She turned back, smiling over her shoulder at Himeno. "Hurry, darling!"

Himeno reached for the hand her mom held out to her...and frowned. "Where is it?" she asked frantically, checking both her hands. She couldn't have lost it, not so soon! "Where did it go?"

"Himeno, we have to hurry. Whatever you're looking for we can find later. The bad people are coming."

"No, I can't leave it! I just got it and now I've lost it!" She dove onto the bed, tossing pillows aside. She couldn't just leave it behind! Himeno stopped again, frowning at her hands. Wait... the ring Hayate had given her... was still on her hand? But, it hand't been moments ago! What... "Something's not right here!" Blinking, she shook her head. Something was very wrong... but it wasn't the ring. It was something else...

She gasped when a cold hard grasp closed around her wrist, nails digging in hard. She whirled around in time to see the image of her mom fade away into that of a tall hooded figure with cold bluish skin and big midnight eyes that were glossy and blind looking. Black sticky stuff oozed from deep gashes covering the face, arms and hands, sticking to her skin and freezing it. "Sssstupid girl! You will come with ussss, whether you want to or not!"

Himeno screamed again, kicking the creature in the stomach as it dragged her toward the door. "NO! LEMME GO!" Not again... she wasn't being dragged off again! "Sasame! Goh! Why are you just standing there?"

Sasame and Goh remained on either side of the black door to the tunnel, unmoving and unblinking. It wasn't natural for someone to be standing so still. Himeno scratched, kicked, hit, and even thought about biting the creature dragging her closer and closer to the door, digging her heels into the carpet to try and stop it. Those ice cold fingers weren't budging from her wrist, not even with all that slimy crap between her skin and it's. She pulled harder and harder, swinging her leg out and tripping the thing to the ground. Even that didn't make it let go. Instead, it pulled her in close to it's chest, letting out a weazing breath. Himeno choked on the cloying sweet smell around it. That smell... God, she knew that smell! It was the smell of sick people in the hospital. People living off of machines or near death. Her mother had smelled like that...

"GET AWAY FROM ME! SASAME! GOH!" Why weren't they moving? What was wrong with them? She knew as soon as they did turn toward her why they weren't moving. Their eyes were the same midnight color of her kidnappers. They weren't real. Which meant... Himeno screamed again as the skin melted away from the faces she knew so well and became thin and sliced up, black stuff trickling down their cheeks. They descended upon her in a rush, that smell invading her senses, making her cough for fresh air. It only sucked that smell into her lungs, made her eyes burn.

Cold clammy hands grabbed her ankles and she kicked at them, heard an angry hiss as her foot connected. Not again... not again! She kept repeating that to herself over and over again, turning it into a chant. She wasn't going to let them get her again. Himeno managed to free an ankle, struggling to try and crawl away from those grasping hands. Her breath left her hard as the one still locked on her wrist rolled over on top of her, hissing in her face, the horrid smell of death pouring from it's mouth. Gasping as a hand clamped under her chin and forced her to face it, Himeno found herself confronted with midnight eyes. She couldn't look away, no matter how hard she tried to close her eyes. Images bombarded her mind, memories being ripped to the surface and forced on her in a mad crash. Her mom dying, her dad remarrying, the first fight with the Princess of Disaster, the deaths of Goh and Sasame... her hands around Hayate's neck. It was all too much for her. Too many emotions, none of them good, slammed into her at one time. Himeno screamed again as her body went into shock, forcing her to pass out. Crap... not again!

* * *

Kei groaned, taking a shuddering breath. Cool fingers were pressed to his forehead, slipping back into his hair. They grazed over a gash in his head and he winced.

"Sorry, I missed that spot," Sete said softly. She was trying to keep him from sitting up, but he shrugged her hands off.

"Himeno... something's happened to her," he managed to get out before he hissed in pain, clutching his head. "Why is it always me getting beaten up?"

"I don't know, darling," Something in her soft voice made him pry his eyelids apart and squint up at her.

"Sete?"

Sete blinked, looking away to hide her tears. Kei frowned, reaching up to push her hair behind her ear. But she wasn't looking at him. Following her gaze, he saw Feryn sitting on the steps with Yayoi on his lap. Yayoi was sobbing hysterically, and even Feryn had tears in his eyes. Manen and Hajime were sitting on the stairs with them, hugging each other. "What...?"

"I tried, _mon ami_, but I was too late," the Knight of Storms said, his accent extraordinarily thick with his emotions. "As soon as you fell, Mannen, Hajime and I went to defend her but... Himeno was taken. I am so very sorry!"

"WHAT?"

Kei winced when Sete's nails dug into his arm. Everyone turned to that voice, absolutely brimming over with rage. Kei shielded his eyes as the air began to pick up speed, swirling around the two figures to have just entered the house. Oh... shit! "H-Hayate?" Sete asked, clutching Kei to her tightly.

Hayate was standing just inside the door way, one hand on Shin's shoulder. Shin was glancing up at him nervously, eyes wide and tear filled. Without another word, the Knight of Wind shoved the younger one toward the group before running back out the door.

"Hayate!" Kei struggled to get up, pushing to his knees before collapsing back, clutching his chest in pain.

"Kei, I haven't gotten to your ribs yet," Sete exclaimed frantically, trying to get him to lie down again.

"Feryn go after him! You can't let him go!"

Feryn had run after their captain, dropping Yayoi on the floor ungracefully. "HAYATE!" He was too late. Hayate had already vanished.

Kei struggled to his feet, leaning heavily on Sete and having trouble breathing. "What are you waiting for? You know where he's going! Go after him, you damn pansy!"

Stepping back, Feryn allowed Kei to see what was holding him in place.

Dark Knights. Eight of them. The one in the lead grinned, electric blue eyes snapping wickedly. "Well, now that he's out of the way, let's finish this!" Feryn barely managed to dodge the lightening leaping from the other knight's hands.

Gritting his teeth, Kei shrugged away from Sete. "Fine, let's do this!"


	11. Secrets Revealed

CHAPTER 11: Secrets Revealed.

Kei clenched his fists, trying to shrug Sete's urgent hands away. "I'm fine, Sete!"

"The hell you are," she snarled. The green glow of her leafe came into view as she quickly tried to fix his chest.

The Dark Knight who first attacked laughed cruelly. "This is going to be easier than we thought! Only one mature Leafe Knight to deal with, boys! The other one's scraped his knee!" There was some muted laughter from outside as the rest of the Dark Knights began to fan out.

Kei yanked his sore arm away, stepping up front with Feryn. He looked down in surprise as Mannen joined them, silvery eyes snapping. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

"I'm helpin'," the Knight of Ice said firmly. "And don't gimme that crap about havin' to watch the others. I'm not stupid!"

He couldn't help smiling at the angry little knight. "Okay, fine. There's eight of them... Feryn, you take three, I'll take three and Mannen takes two."

Feryn nodded grimly, the scar running across his face pulling tight. "I want _la tete de la merde_ who dared to use lightening against me."

Kei's eyebrows rose at the other man. He knew enough French to know he'd called the Dark Knight a 'shit-head'. "That's the first time I've ever heard you cuss like that!"

The Knight of Storms quirked a smile, eyes glinting. "Then you have not seen many training sessions with myself and Himeno. It is positively foul!"

Smiling back, Kei nodded. "Okay, then let's do this. Be quick, we still need to go after Hayate." All three ran out the door, Hajime taking Manne's old job and staying in the house with Shin. Sete stood back, frustrated no end once again that her leafe wasn't an offensive one. She wanted to be out there fighting... but without any form of attacking, all she'd be doing was worrying Kei. And he was already distracted enough with his injuries. Sighing, she put a hand on Shin's and Hajime's shoulders. "Let's go out the back and see if we can signal the other teams in," she offered. It was at least something to do! She looked over to Yayoi, arching a brow. "Are you coming or staying?"

Yayoi blinked out of her frightened trance and stood up. "I'm coming."

"Hurry up, guys! We gotta make it really big!" Hajime and Shin went running ahead of the two women to the back sliding doors leading to the beach. Just as they made it out, shadows peeled away from the larger ones of the night and came forward. At least six more Dark Knights. Yayoi's scream echoed out into the empty black air as she back peddled right into Sete, forcing her further into the house and away from the other two knights..

Shin screamed as one grabbed his wrist and immediately vines sprang up, wrapping around the man's neck to drag him to the ground. "Sete!"

Sete shoved Yayoi to the side and sprinted over to the younger knight just as the guy was peeling the vines off irritably and getting up. She threw Shin to the ground, waited until the guy was crouched, then brought her knee up into his face, feeling the blood dripping from his shattered nose onto her sandaled feet. "Aw, damn it! NOT MY MINOLO'S!" For added measure (and also for ruing her four hundred dollar shoes) she kicked him in the groin and then let Shin come in and beat on him while he was down groaning in pain. There was a sharp crack and a startled yelp as Yayoi slapped the knight coming for her across the face, nails raking in and digging bloody furrows down his cheek and nose. Hajime finished the rest by wrapping a water whip around the man's throat, yanking him forward and into his foot, knocking him out cold. And Shin... Shin was...

"That's for killing all my plants! And that's for being mean to Kei! And that's for taking Himeno! And that's for..." The list of complaints from the little knight kept going on and on, punctuated with well placed kicks to the stomach and groin. The Dark Knight was still trying to get his bearings (and his balls) back in place.

Sete ducked the black mass flung at her, saw it splatter against the house, hissing as it slid to the ground. The knight who'd done it was running at her, calling up more of that crap. "Oh, no you don't!" She ran full force at him, jumping midair to land a kick to his jaw. She screamed instead when a silvery arrow pierced her side, burning her flesh. It exploded in the air like moonlight and she fell, gasping. Shit... Kei was going to be pissed about this! The knight who shot her was already loading another arrow for her. SHIT!

"Sete!" Shin stopped kicking the unconscious knight to run for her. Hajime finished whipping another one down to the ground and unmoving before he made a beeline for Shin, not Sete.

She saw why and tried to warn the young knight "Shin, no!"

The warning came too late as another knight, pretending to be dead, grabbed Shin's ankle, grinning as the boy screamed and fell, struggling to get away. The man crawled up and over the much smaller boy, yanking him to his feet and easily pinning him against his front, being careful to keep anything that could hit his groin away or checked. "I've got him! Let's get out of here before that crazy one gets back!"

"Too late, dumb arse!" The Dark Knight screamed as a thick spear of earth was slammed up his back and out the front, right above Shin's head. Shin screamed louder as blood fell on him, instantly running the minute those hands fell away for Sete, who hugged him, eyes wide.

Once the man fell, Blaise offered a sheepish grin. "Hello, duckies!"

"You're late, you mother-," Sete growled, eyes narrowing angrily.

"Uh-uh! Young'uns present. Late, but soooo worth the wait, right? Ravijot, Kondhae, Ajiaso and Otoshi's teams are out front, taking care of the other Dumb Nuts." He twirled the spear expertly back and over his hands, falling into a defensive pose as the other Dark Knights began to circle him. "Hajime, I think that smarmy lookin' bastard over there'll be easy enough for ya!"

The 'smarmy lookin' bastard' in question didn't take kindly to the insult (or the thought of someone as young as Hajime being able to defeat him) and lunged forward. It was obvious after Blaise's spear exploded through the other side of his stomach that the Knight of Flowers had planned on making him angry enough to act without thinking.

Hajime instead attacked a much bigger knight, handling two whips at once with the ease of many practice sessions and much shouting from Hayate. Sete couldn't help thinking that if their captain was present, he'd be very proud of how everyone was handling things. She stood up with Shin still clinging to her and could do nothing more but watch as Hajime got one more and Blaise finished the rest. Since when had Blaise been so incredibly fast? Or so skilled with a spear? He was good, she knew that rfom his reputation but this... THIS was beyond anything she'd ever seen from any other knight. Well, except for Hayate and Caias, the captain of the Red Guard. "Holy shit," she muttered.

A cheer came from the front of the house, and immediately Blaise whirled toward the door, Hajime pressed to his back just as he'd been trained. Yayoi gasped and ran, thinking the worst until Feryn came slamming around the corner right into her, bowling her to the ground. "Ow..."

"_Ma fleur! Je suis desole!_" The French continued in a long string as he helped her to her feet, pressing little kisses to her cheeks and lips.

"Then that wasn't... oh, Feryn! I was so worried!" Yayoi threw herself into his arms, sobbing in relief and kissing him back repeatedly.

Kei came around them, making a face at all the unnecessary emotional displays and smiled as he came up to Sete, who was getting to her feet. Blood dripped from a shallow cut acros his forehead into his eyes and his shoulder was hanging even odder than it had been before. "Hey, sexy- OUCH! DAMN IT!"

Sete hit him again for good measure, jade eyes blazing with anger. "You IDIOT! You stupid, stupid idiot! I've told you before about charging into certain death without me! Don't you ever- mmph!"

Kei pulled her in and kissed her hard to get her to shut up. Hmm... Hayate might be up to something with this approach. He drew back, smiling at the flush on her cheeks... until she slapped him. "You... you crazy... WOMAN! I was TRYING to be affectionate!"

"And I wasn't done yelling at you! Do you know how awful it is as a healer to watch your patient go and try to kill himself again?"

"Ha! Some healer, you practically beat me to a pulp!"

The arguing continued, Sete shoving Kei and Kei shoving her back. The other teams were watching, some shocked and others mildly amused. Shin, who had seen Pasha was present, went running up to the Indian girl and was now eating the candy she always carried with her, humming happily as she wrapped her arms loosely around him.

A shrill whistle broke the fight up and directed attention to Blaise. "Oi! Take the lover's quarrel elsewhere! We've ourselves a situation, people. The White Pretear was taken by Shimura, Queen of Nightmares."

A startled gasp echoed through the people assembled. Several knights were angered by this, and a few Pretears as well, most notably Tasia. The girl snorted, blonde hair pulled back in the usual braided ponytail. "So, that bitch thinks she can just walk in and take OUR White Pretear? Bitch gonna be thinkin' different when I get to her!"

"As much as I hate to say this, we can't go after her," Blaise continued firmly. Shocked eyes turned to him, too stunned for words.

It was Tasia who once again spoke up, eyes snapping angrily. "Lick my sweaty ass, Blaise! You don't tell me what to do! If I wanna go kick this scrawny bitch's ass, I will!"

"Tasia-," Otoshi warned, grabbing her arm. The girl was too far gone in her anger and jerked her arm away. Otoshi's cheeks flamed up and his eyes darted from his incenced Pretear to Blaise and back again, getting redder the more she carried on.

"Back off, Otoshi! This arrogant, good-for-nothin', second-rate-,"

"Tasia, PLEASE-,"

"-Low-life, perverted, goddamned sonufabitch thinks he owns me? The HELL you do! Just who the hell you think you are, Blaise, tellin' me what's what?"

Instead of the expected cuss ladened response everyone was expecting, Blaise grinned, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm the bloody Topaz Prince, so watch the sauce, would ya?"

The utter stillness that filled all the teams was remarkable. Kei shook his head, wondering if maybe he had a concussion. "Um... what? Sete, did he just..." Sete's wide eyes were answer enough. Kei felt his eyes threaten to pop out of his head. "WHAT? You're... w-what? That's impossible!"

Blaise shrugged, very clearly enjoying the shock. "Ya think so, do ya?"

Tasia blinked out of her shocked stupor and scowled. "Ha, funny! The Topaz Prince is-,"

"-Me. Me personal guard, Saeko, has been the one behind the mask. I had to go into hidin' after the last battle cuz the Queen of Crazies was after me arse hard core. So, Saeko pretended to die and took me place while I pretended to be a new knight. Otoshi and Hayate have kept it secret fer almost sixteen years. Wish you could see yer face, love! It's bloody hysterical!"

Otoshi stepped away from his Pretear, eyes narrowed and watching as she turned slowly to look at him. "Tasia, yell at me later. We need to go stop the shadow army from entering Leafenia."

"We already DID that! I killed them the last time!" she railed, stamping her foot hard on teh ground. Blaise covered his smile with his hand, eyebrows rising nearly to his hairline.

Kei scowled darkly but refrained from correcting the arrogant girl that he, in fact, had been the one to kill off the shadow demons. What could one expect from the American team?

"No, that was only a portion of her army," another voice said, stepping out of the shadows behind Blaise. A very tall man with long pale gold hair pulled back loosely in a braid, amber eyes and bronze skin. He wore all neutral browns with a white cape and was escorting a wide-eyed Mawata from the shadows. Sete gasped when she recognized those eyes as the ones normally behind the mask of the Topaz Prince.

"And just who the HELL are you?" Tasia shouted.

"I am Saeko, Prince Kataru's personal guard."

Kei shook his head again, pressing his temples hard. Kataru, the Topaz Prince, was Blaise... "So, Blaise, or Kataru... or whatever you name is-,"

Blaise grinned. "Aw... did I bother that pretty head o' yours, Kei? Kataru's me real name."

"Kataru? Is the acent fake as well?" he asked dryly, resorting to sarcasm in his confusion.

Blaise groaned, smacking his head. "What does it bloody matter right now? Look, we've got Shimura's army marchin' across Leafenia. We'll discuss the accent an' what to call me, includin' some o' Tasia's lovely suggestions, after we kill the gits."

"Has anyone been able to talk to Erelah?" Kondhae interupted quickly before Kei could respond, his black eyes glancing around worriedly.

"Erelah has joined forces with Shimura," Saeko answered without any trace of emotion. He still stood very close to Mawata, as if he'd been ordered to guard her. There wasn't even a gasp of sound from anyone at that startling announcement. This time not even Tasia had words for such a betrayal. Kei felt Sete's nails press in harder on his arm and he squeezed his arm around her waist reassuringly.

"This is bad! This is very bad," a knight from the back called out.

"Yeah, it's bad," Blaise/Kataru answered, his voice rising easily over the whispers that sprang up at the other knight's words. "But it's not hopeless. We've done it before, and we're gonna do it again. Kondhae, your team will settle up Erelah's. I don't ruddy care what happens to the prat, but capture his team and Pretear as unharmed as possible. Ajiaso, Ravijot, and Otoshi your teams'll keep them Dark Knights and night mages in hand. Kei, since your team worked so brilliantly against the shadow demons, you cover them. Saeko, is the Red Guard ready?"

"Yes, sir."

Blaise/Kataru clapped his hands together, rubbing them with an excited grin on his face. "You have yer orders. Be at the the Palace in a half hour and be ready to kick some serious arse!" Still mumbling in surprise, all the teams began to disband and prepare for the upcoming battle. Most were still unsure if Blaise was telling the truth, but went along with it simply because his plan was the best they had right then.

"Hold on, wait a second," Sete shouted over the noise, stepping away from Kei's arms. Everyone stopped and turned back to look at her impatiently. "What about Shimura? As I recall from the story, the Topaz Prince... you, I mean... were barely able to defeat her last time. You managed to shove her back into her own land, but that's not going to work this time. How are we going to destroy her once and for all?"

The little smile Blaise/Kataru gave was nothing like the Knight of Flowers they knew. It was very bitter and a touch sad and very serious. Not a trace of the usual humor at all in that face. "We can't kill her," he answered, so quietly it was almost missed. "What happened to Hayate's team proves we need evil in this world, otherwise, what good's a good guy if there's nothin' to fight? This time, we need to seal her away well an' proper. I can't do that. There's only one person that can do that; the White Pretear."

"Then... then we're all dead," Ameina, the Pretear for Kondhae's team, exclaimed. "The White Pretear's been taken! Why are we bothering to fight at all when we're all going to die? We're doomed!"

"No, we're not," Kei interupted, giving the crying girl a scathing glare. Honestly, some people and their dramatics! "Hayate went after her."

"And? He's only one lone knight against God knows what," she continued, closing very nearly on being hysterical. Judging from the shared glances, some were being swayed by her argument.

"He's got the added bonus of being a pissed off boyfriend. Trust me, the people who took Himeno are going to be in more pain than they can imagine when he gets his hands on them."

"And when he is through with them, we will have our turn," Pasha added darkly, backing Kei with a quick little smile. Kei wasn't the only one to blink in surprise at the newest Pretear's sudden blood lust. Not even a month ago, the girl had almost been too scared to pret!

Ravijot smiled proudly at her, his almost-lime green eyes sparkling. "She is, after all _our_ White Pretear, the first in almost one hundred years. This is an insult we cannot let slide."

"Damn straight we're not," Tasia muttered.

Grinning more broadly, Blaise?Kataru nodded once, and opened a gateway into Leafenia. "A half an hour and tickin', people. We've got an army to destroy, a land to save and a Pretear that needs avengin'!"

* * *

Himeno let out a little 'oof' as she was flung away from the creepy dead-looking guys and into a pool of icy cold water. Shivering, she struggled to her feet, her wet jeans weighing her down. She pushed her hair out of her eyes irritably, fists clenching by her sides. The three figures stood before her and the door. She could take them easy. They looked more than half dead anyway! She ran through the water, fist cocked back to land one right on the jaw...

And stopped at the last minute when her mother's face appeared. "W-What?" Himeno fell back, shaking her head and pressing her hands over her ears. Not real, not real, not real... She kept repeating that over and over again, closing her eyes tightly. She couldn't be afraid to hit it, even if it did look so much like her mom. Himeno took a deep breath, sucking it in and letting it out slowly. So, this was why Hayate forced her to do meditation... The deep breathing was working to calm her down, she realized, surprised. Huh, so he'd been right about that! She wasn't going to tell him, not in a million and one years.

"Aww... what's the matter, too much like your mother?" a familiar voice taunted. The voice seemed to drift through the still darkness of the room, wrapping itself around her like being covered in poisoned chocolate. Himeno's eyes flew open, shocked to hear that melodious voice again. She scanned the darkness, but didn't have to look far.

Jikan stepped into the frigid water, pale silvery hair floating freely in his wake. Himeno squinted to see him better. What the... the entire right side of his face was a ruined mess! It looked like someone had painted a masterpiece and then taken the brush and blurred half of it together into a mix of color. His forehead blended with his hair line, mixing the paleness of his skin with the silvery color of his hair. His deep green eyes was unmoving and unseeing, completely wide open and lidless except for the spot where his eyebrow had melted to it. There were no lips on that side, no noticeable ear. She couldn't help backing away as he trudged closer. Did she... she couldn't have... how did this happen?

Grinning, the ruined half of his mouth pulling tight and showing his gums all the way around, Jikan trailed his fingers from the nonexistant hair line down to his neck, pulling the fabric of his white tunic so hard that it ripped to show the damage ran down his neck and shoulder, trickling off just as it reached his chest and abs. "Like what you did? Isn't it just magnificent?"

"You had it coming," she defended herself. She wasn't at all happy about what had happened to him. No one deserved to end up like that, not even him! But she wasn't sure how it happened, and at the time she didn't really much care so long as he wasn't inside her any longer. Was this what happened when a knight and the White Pretear preted? Was this why she could become the White Pretear on her own? She hoped not!

Jikan laughed shrilly, his one good eye glinting wildly. "I... had it coming? I HAD IT COMING? After what you did to my mother, you think I deserved this?" He was screaming at her now, his whole body shaking with rage.

"You were trying to kill me and Hayate," Himeno shouted back, standing her place with clenched fists. She wasn't going to run from him anymore! If he wanted a fight, she was plenty pissed off to give him one.

Lips twisting into a snarl, he let out a worldless, gutteral scream, hands clenching at his hair. As he spoke, his words became more frantic and high pitched. "Yes, yes! I was going to kill you! I AM going to kill you! You took my life from me, and now I get to take yours! A fair trade, yes? Yes, a very fair trade. But where to start, where to start? How about... an eye for an eye?" He began to circle her slowly, shoulders and arm relaxed to make an attack easier.

Himeno raised her fists, eyes narrowed and tracking his movements. The ring on her finger caught the little light reflected back from the water's rippled surface and she tightened her fist around it even more. She had to win this one! _I have to stay alive. I've gotta stay alive for Hayate._ Jikan stopped circling, watching her from a safe distance. She knew how very fast the knights could be, and how Jikan could freeze time enough for him to make a quick attack or escape. She knew that someone angry was a lot crazier than someone fighting sane.

She knew all this and still couldn't block the punch to her jaw that sent her sprawling into the water. Himeno struggled to push away as her waist was straddled by two white clothed knees, hands gripping her throat and shoving her to the bottom of the pool. She only had a moment to realize that he was trying to drown her before her arms flailed around, desperately trying to get him off her.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: To those of you who figured out Blaise's secret: Sorry I was so predictable. I'm sorry I've lost my edge... (finds a dark corner and curls up in the fetal position to cry for at least four hours)

To thos of you who were pleasantly surprised: Hehe... GOTCHA!

Anyway, sorry for the chapter being so short and so long to get out! The next one won't be long at all, I promise! Long to get out, that is. It'll be a pretty lengthy chapter in general. THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HAS READ THIS, WHETHER YOU REVIEWED OR NOT! I'm glad this is being so well received. And now I need to find some more tissues BADLY!


	12. Fight The Power!

CHAPTER 12: Fight The Power!

Kataru could tell Mawata wasn't happy. He didn't need to see her face to know that. They were in his room at the Palace of Leafe and she was sitting on his bed, watching him pull his armor (which he hadn't worn since the last battle and would be bloody lucky to squeeze into now) out of the storage trunk, straightening it out on the floor.

"So... you're a prince?" she asked softly.

"Yep. Don't I just scream royalty?" he teased, flashing her a quick smile. Deep down, he was nervous as hell.

Mawata didn't even smile. Damn, she was REALLY upset. "And you absolutely HAVE to go to war?"

"S'not like I bloody want to get meself covered in nasty bits. As the Prince, I kinda have to, though."

"Oh."

Sighing, he sat back on his heels, really studying her for a while. It wasn't the fact he'd hid his secret from her that had her so sad. She was scared of him going to war and possibly not coming back. Was it really sick of him to be flattered by that? Naw! Sighing again, he stood up, climbing onto the bed to half-sit in the middle of it with her. He took her hand, squeezing it. "Look, you shouldn't worry 'til ya see the body bag, okay? 'Sides, I kicked this ruddy bitch's arse once before, I can bloody well do it again." That got him the smile he was looking for. He kissed the dimple on her cheek, lips lingering a little. If he didn't come back, at least he had this to take with him. "Oi, got an idea, love." He spoke with his lips still hovering against her cheek.

"You do?" she asked suspiciously, turning toward him slightly. Their lips were just a few centimeters from touching and he really wanted to close the distance... but he knew if he did they probably wouldn't stop.

"I just remembered I bought a new hair dye...let's dye our hair!"

Mawata laughed, pushing him away from her. "I can't dye my hair!"

"Why the hell not? Don'tcha think we'd be soooo cute together with matchin' hair?" He grinned, poking her side playfully. "It's a nice color, too."

"What color?" There was a mischievous sparkle to her eyes as she spoke.

He knew with that he had her. Smile turning wicked, he wiggled his eyebrows. "Me to know and you to find out when yer hair dries. C'mon, let's do it."

Sighing, Mawata scooted off the bed. "It better not be yellow. I'd look awful with yellow hair."

Laughing, he grabbed her hand and the small bag he'd brought with him and dragged her into the bathroom. "We've gotta be quick, though. Not too long 'fore I've gotta get suited up in me pretty gear!"

* * *

Kei glared at Sete. Sete glared back. "You are the most stubborn woman I've ever had the unfortunate experience of sharing my bed with!"

"And you're the biggest asshole I ever decided to grace with my presence," she snapped back, eyes suspiciously shiny. Like she was about to cry. Ha, as if tears would work on him!

"If you're so insistant on going to war with me, you keep your ass at my side at all times," Kei shouted back.

"Fine! What, do you think I'll run off with Mannen in the middle of the fight or something?"

"MANNEN? Dear, aren't you a little old to be looking at Mannen?"

Sete gasped, hands going to her hips. "Are you saying I'm old?" she demanded.

Kei shrugged. "Three words: anti-aging cream."

"Shows how much you know, dumb ass! That's two words. 'Anti-aging' is hyphenated!"

"And just when the hell did you get a job with Webster's Dictionary, you damn tart?"

"TART? First I'm old, and now I'm a TART? At least I don't look like a drag queen reject!"

Kei bristled at that, golden eyes glaring into jade ones. "What, jealous I look prettier than you?" He grabbed her wrist as she brought her hand back to slap him, pulling her in tightly to him. Sete struggled against his hold, wrists pinned behind her back in both of his hands. She let out a frustrated growl, struggles ceasing abruptly. Kei arched a brow questioningly. "Was that a good enough argument?"

"Yes," she mumbled.

"So can we move on to the actual kissing stuff?"

"Yeah, yeah...horny bastard."

He smiled as he kissed not her lips but the side of her neck, running his mouth lightly over the pulse beating steadily. He knew that she enjoyed having her neck kissed and bitten lightly very much. And he wasn't disappointed in her reaction either. Her back stiffened a little before relaxing with a shudder, a small sigh breaking from her throat. "Mm... you like it. You think I'm hot stuff, admit it."

"AND your arrogant!"

Kei drew back scowling. "Are you about finished with the insults, woman?"

Sete's lips fought the smile forming. "Just about... boy."

"GOD! Why do I put up with you?"

Giving him a teasing pout, she said mockingly, "Aw, you like it. You think I'm hot- mrph!"

He kissed her roughly to get her to shut the hell up. And this time she let him without a fight.

* * *

Feryn held Yayoi, head resting on hers, swaying slightly. Her mp3 player was on, playing their song and they were dancing to it. 'Breathe' by Faith Hill. Such a perfect song for them, even if it was a country artist. He kissed her hair gently, letting her scent envelope him. A year ago, he would not have thought he would be so happily in love. What he had with her was only something he had found in books. And to think it had been while he was trying to seduce Himeno that he discovered Yayoi! He loved her, more than anything in his entire life. She was his reason for drawing breath and staying alive. She was IT, as Kataru would have put so bluntly.

"Feryn?" she whispered, sniffling. She was trying so hard not to cry, and he hugged her tighter for a moment, proud of how very strong she was.

"_Oui, ma belle fleur?_" he whispered back, pulling back slightly to stare into her eyes.

Tears trembled and threatened to fall, but she sniffed them back again, voice wavering as she spoke. "Do you think... we'll have our happily ever after?"

He smiled, leaning down to kiss the tip of her nose gently. He knew she did not like her nose. Or her eyes and hips, either. Thus, he dedicated more time to those areas than anywhere else. He wanted her to know how truly beautiful she was. "I will not settle for any other ending," he answered, fingers slipping back into her hair.

Yayoi smiled and nodded as she leaned up into his kiss. "Good," she said against his lips.

* * *

Ginshima and Kinshima sat together on the Queen of Nightmare's throne, one on each arm. They'd been left with a very special mission from their Queen, though both were uneasy at not being by her side for the final battle.

"How long does it take for a man to notice his female is gone?" Ginshima ranted, silver eyes flashing in the dull light coming from a source slightly above the throne.

Kinshima smiled patiently, very familiar with his twin's impatience for a fight. "Don't worry, Ginshima. The Knight of Wind will be here soon. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, I believe he just arrived."

Both twins stood as one as a fierce wind pounded against the window pains of the throne room, pulsing on the wooden doors. There was a sharp cracking sound and then the doors were ripped from their hinges, hurling across the room and into the wall behind the twins without ever touching them. A dark figure stood there, black hair whipping around freely. The only thing clearly seen from him were glowing blue eyes, the paler flecks snapping against the darker background like lightening strikes.

"Well, if it isn't the Knight of Wind coming to save his Pretear bitch," Ginshima taunted as Hayate entered the throne room, the wind growing stronger the closer he got. Kinshima smirked at his brother's words.

"Where is she?" Hayate demanded, his voice resounding and carrying with the wind so that it was both deeper and more powerful than normal. Both of them frowned identically. It was almost like the knight was becoming his leafe. How...odd.

The twins exchanged glances, slow smiles spreading across their faces. Finally, an opponent who MIGHT stand a chance against them. Slowly, they turned back to him. "We have no reason to tell you, Leafe Knight," Kinshima replied.

"Then I'll give you a reason!"

Both men quickly threw up shields as the winds rose to a frightening new force, cracking at the stones around them, sending the throne smashing into the wall only to have the pieces picked up and turned into dangerous weapons sharp as any blade. He was MUCH stronger than they'd anticipated... but not as strong as the two of them combined! Looking at each other again, they nodded as one. They both made the same motion, bringing their hands together in front of their chests. There were twin flashes of gold and silver that faded quickly to reveal the two covered over in the metals they controled. The wind beat and slammed into them, digging deep furrows into the gold and silver coating, but it didn't actually touch the twins.

"Normally, I would be opposed to the uneven numbers," Kinshima said calmly, twin swords forming out of his metal covered hands. "But our Queen commanded that we were not to let you pass."

"Oh, don't sugar coat her words, brother?" Ginshima said mockingly, swords forming down both his arms as well. "She said something about painting her throne room floor red with his blood. I like that so much better!"

"As you will then, brother. Well, Knight of Wind, arm yourself!"

A slow smile spread across his face. The sheer malice behind it made both brothers shiver a little. The wind began to gather and solidify near both his hands, taking on long thin shapes that soon became blades. And still the wind howled and whipped around them, nearly knocking them off their feet. Amazing... it took a lot of leafe to create a weapon, and here he made two AND still maintained the leafe's natural power! This was going to be a glorious fight! "You said something about painting the floor with my blood," Hayate said coldly, the little smile still on his lips. "Are you going to give it a try or stand there all day talking tough?"

Ginshima and Kinshima charged as one, their four swords to his two. MUCH better odds than those of the Knight of Wind's!

* * *

Himeno could hear her pulse beating in her ears under the water, her hands still pulling on Jikan's wrists. She'd run out of air long ago, her lungs burning for the oxygen not too far above her. Hayate... where was he? He should be here by now, right? The lack of air was starting to make her whoozy, black spots eating at her vision. This wasn't good! If she passed out now, she was dead for sure. Her heart beat became louder and slower, her eyes heavy. She was tired... so very tired. All she wanted to do was sleep...

Except, if she slept, she was dead. And she'd never see Hayate and the others again. Well, she couldn't just wait here, drowning, for him to save her. If she wanted to live, she had to save herself! Her hands had fallen away from his wrists a long time ago, floating in the water near the surface. Himeno felt his fingers move away from her bruised throat, felt the water shift as he stepped away from her. Opening her eyes, she made her move, surging from the water and sucking the air into her lungs greedily, arm swinging forward to connect with the ruined side of Jikan's surprised face.

Jikan hit the water hard, floating away from her and spluttering in shock. "But... you were dead!"

"Don't be stupid," she sneered, body falling easily into a defensive stance, fists raised. The water dripping from her hair into her eyes was a little annoying, but she didn't dare take the time to move it. The Knight of Time was fast. One blink and she could be down under the water permanently. "You should never assume someone's dead if they aren't moving!"

Pushing to his feet, Jikan twisted his neck around, cracking the joints. "How foolish of me to assume you would die easily. No matter, if it means I get to kill you again, so much the better!"

Himeno braced herself as he came charging toward her, faster than she could follow almost. She managed to dodge the first few flurried attacks and even got a few more punches in, wheeling around as he circled behind her, constantly keeping him in sight.

Jikan stopped on the stairs leading out of the pool. smiling grimly. "I have a surprise for you, Pretear Himeno," he called out. He stepped aside, a knife flashing in his hand as he plunged it home in the chest of the person behind him.

Himeno's eyes widened, her fists dropping. "HAYATE!"

Hayate fell to his knees, staring at the knife in his chest. His blood flowed down his front and into the water, sitting just below the still surface. Moments later, he fell forward over the steps, hand trailing into the pool and completely limp.

Himeno screamed again, rushing over as Jikan stepped back, laughing shrilly.

* * *

Shimura smiled happily, her lovely dragons champing at the bridle impatiently. The cloud of nightmares and darkness spread before her, sucking the leafe up and feeding it to her, creating more horrors than before. Her army marched before her, the Dark Knights standing close to her side should she need them.

And right before her was the pathetically small army of Leafenia. One lone figure stood out front, white armor shining against the growing gloom. Shimura's pale blue eyes narrowed, smile fading as a hiss broke from her mouth. "Kataru." She spat the name like it was a curse, and to her it was. The last time she'd entered Leafenia, he'd been there and he'd fought her off. The battle had cost them both dearly. But she was stronger now, fueled by her collection of pets, and soon enough the White Pretear herself. IF Jikan did his job for a change. She'd left him in charge of making certain the White Pretear went completely mad before trapping her on the wall with the others. With the strength of will the White Pretear possessed, it was necessary to have her mind weakened in order to suck the leafe from her. Sane, and she could still fight back.

"Queen Shimura?" one of the knights asked from her side.

Smiling again at a sudden wash of leafe into her system, she laughed loudly, her voice raising above the cries of the army. "Make Leafenia mine!"

The armies screamed in response, rushing toward the awaiting dead men.

* * *

Kataru took a deep breath, watching as the Shadow Army came toward them in what felt like slow motion. His newly dyed violet and white striped hair blew back slightly in the soft breeze. His lips were moving slightly, and only Kondhae and Otoshi were aware of what was being said. Or, rather, sung. "Time to face the change. Ch-ch-changes."

"Sir?" Otoshi asked softly, eyes flicking over to the quickly advancing army.

Kataru smiled softly, shaking his head. "Bloody predictable bitch. Kondhae, break your team across the front, Otoshi hold back."

Both captains frowned at the orders. Kondhae's team was to sweep from the left across to the right? "But, sir, shouldn't I handle..."

Nodding in the direction of what looked to be Erelah's team, the Topaz Prince said, "That's not Erelah. Those are nightmages disguised as the ugly bastard."

"How do you know?"

"Because Alayna wouldn't be smilin' like that. Plus... Erelah isn't that hot to begin with. He's hidin' in that mass o' ruined leafe across the field. Otoshi, hold back and stay steady for the first blows. Signal for Ravijot to close in from the side and have Kei take his team to the air, but don't mess with the Queen o' Pansies. She's mine!"

Both hurried to do as he ordered, leaving Kataru to finish his song. "Time may change me, but I can't change time." Taking another deep breath, he called forth his spear, holding it high to give the signal for the teams to move. A cry rose up from behind him before Shimura's army was obscured behind Kondhae's swiftly moving team, Aleina and Kondhae having preted and taken the lead. "God, never asked you fer much before now... but I'd really like to come out o' this alive, and with me people safe. So, hopefully ya haven't stepped out an' turned yer answerin' machine on. You mate, Kataru."


	13. Understanding

CHAPTER 13: Understanding

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Can you tell I'm running out of chapter titles yet? Hehe, someone pointed that out last chapter... Too true, that last one DID really suck! Seeing as this is the third one and there's so far between all three stories 36 chapters... yeah, I'll go with that as my excuse!)

* * *

Ginshima skidded back across the floor on one knee, using his raised foot as a break of sorts. His sword was dripping blood, but still the Knight of Wind stood his ground. It was obvious he was injured, possibly fatally so, but still he stood. Kinshima was lying beside him, struggling to sit up. A particularly nasty wind slash had caught him across the chest, breaking through the metal armor and nearly through his skin. The brusing there would be awful, and he most likely had a cracked rib or two.

Hayate used one of his swords to keep himself from falling. His shirt was soaked in the blood spilt from several shallow cuts that ran from his face all the way down to his knees. Not once had he let them get close enough to make a death blow, but the smaller cuts were doing a good job of making him lose blood. His skill was beyond what the twins had been expecting. The Knight of Wind truly earned his reputation as one of the best in Leafenia.

Ginshima stood slowly, helping Kinshima to his feet. "Brother?" he murmured.

"I'm fine," Kinshima hissed out.

Nodding, he started the next flurry of attacks, hand sliding down the metal on his arm and taking with it some of the silver, which formed into small spikes as he flung his hand out and at the knight before him.

Hayate's hand swept in front of him, casting a shield. Two of the spikes slipped by before the shield was up, one catching in his shoulder and sticking, the other grazing by his cheek. Ginshima smiled cruelly. All he needed was that one. Using his own leafe, he made the spike explode inside the other's shoulder, a spray of blood showering out and down. This time, a scream was torn loose and Hayate fell to his knees.

"You know why you're in this mess, don't you?" Ginshima called, spreading the metal out even further, making it grow thinner and sharper. A single thin spike burst free from his arm, another from the back of his shoulder and still one more from the front. He was disappointed there wasn't more screaming. It had to be the most painful feeling ever, having the metal slowly expand inside his shoulder, breaking tissue and pulling tendons.

"B-Because... you t-took... Himeno," he choked out, back spasming as yet more metal found its way through and out his body. One was slowly moving closer to his lung. If it punctured that, there was no saving him.

"Sort of. See, the truth is, Knight of Wind, that you're here dying because of... love. You love the White Pretear, so you came here to save her. You knew it meant possible death. How is it something that's supposed to be as beautiful as love demands such a cruel price?"

"You're... wrong!"

Kinshima stood beside him, waiting for his brother to finish the game. "You're entitled to your own opinion, of course. But think about it, seriously. Men and women claim everyday they would die for the one they love. Die... for love? Pathetic! Love is a weakness for just that reason. Why anyone would crave something like that is beyond me."

Hayate struggled up to his feet, hand moving to one of the spikes. "That's not love," he gritted out, teeth clenched tightly.

Both brothers' eyes narrowed as he snapped the first thin spike clean off, hissing in pain. Ginshima stopped the progress of that one fatal spike, waiting to see how much pain the knight would inflict upon himself. "Ginshima?" his brother asked softly, golden eyes flickering a little in concern.

"Just a moment, Kinshima. Explain yourself, leafe knight!"

Another spike was snapped off, blood flowing a little faster. He wouldn't last much longer. Too much blood on the floor around him. "Dying is an easy thing to do. You don't need love to do it. The trick to love is to stay alive, to keep fighting for it. THAT is why I'm here. I'm not here to die for the one I love. I'm here to LIVE!" He broke through the finally one in his front before reaching behind his shoulder for the one there.

_The trick is to stay alive, to fight for it..._

Ginshima's eyes narrowed even further, hand gripping his sword tightly. "Our parents died because they loved us! You know NOTHING about love if that's what you think. How you can stand there and profess this nonsense is beyond me!"

"That's not why they died," he continued firmly. "Your parents were murdered. They fought to the bitter end to stay alive for you! The one who took them from you is the one you call Queen!"

"LIAR!" he screamed, chest heaving in anger.

"I don't lie," Hayate shouted back. "I was there. I saw it! At the last battle, when Shimura invaded Leafenia, your parents-,"

"LIAR!"

"GINSHIMA, NO!"

The warning came too late. Ginshima started to send the spike driving into Hayate's lung.

Only to see a flash of gold cross his vision followed quickly a startled cry of pain. Silver eyes wide in disbelief, he stared at the sword planted firmly in his brother's chest, just next to his heart. As Hayate had been kneeling, he'd picked up one of his lost swords and flung it at Ginshima. Except, his brother had intercepted the blow for him. His brother... "N-no... brother..."

Ginshima fell to his knees beside his brother, tears sliding down his cheeks. His silver armor was gone now, just him and the pain in his eyes. "Kinshima... don't leave me..."

Kinshima gave his brother a sad smile before his eyes closed. Ginshima held him close and screamed for the brother that lay dying in his arms. His only family, the only one he ever cared about. "DON'T LEAVE ME!"

* * *

Himeno ran shaking fingers over the still face turned away from her. No... Hayate... It couldn't be!

Jikan moved around behind her, chuckling to himself. "So sad... he died trying to save you! To be honest, that felt better than I had imagined it. Just the squish of his flesh around my knife, the warmth of blood on my hand... such rapture!"

She brushed the hair back from his face, tears falling onto the cold skin of his cheek. She turned him to face her, his eyes still open...

And stopped, staring into solid metallic blue, no white to them at all. Those eyes... those belonged to those creatures, the ones that had impersonated Goh and Sasame... and her mom! Then this wasn't real. The understanding that none of it had ever been real suddenly clicked with her. Shimura had used her own fears, things she'd never admit to anyone, and turned them into a weakness. All of this had been because of her own guilt! As she stared at the body, it slowly transformed back into one of those dead-looking creatures. With the spell broken, she could see now what it was. She understood now. Hayate was still alive and Jikan was...

Jikan's laughter stopped abruptly when Himeno turned and kicked him in the groin. Hard. A little groan issued from his throat before her fist slammed into his jaw, knocking him into the water. He rose, spitting blood from his cracked lip. "H-How did you...?"

"Please! I know my boyfriend, and that's not him," she sneered, taking on a defensive pose. "I'm not entirely stupid, you know."

With a strangled cry, he lunged at her. So sloppy! It was easy enough to bring her knee into his chest, elbow down across his neck and then shove him back. Himeno waited for him to get back up. For what he'd done to her, she was gonna kick his ass at LEAST six different ways!

Jikan pushed to his feet again, clutching his chest, face contorted in rage. He rushed forward with unimaginable speed.

And this time, Himeno was ready for it. She was NOT going to lose to him!

* * *

"FALL BACK! FALL BACK!" Kataru roared above the sounds of battle, brown eyes scanning over the carnage with a sick feeling in his gut. Bloody, bloody HELL! This was NOT how it was supposed to happen! It wasn't the army that was the problem. If it was just his knights against all of them bastards, they would have won by now.

The problem was the bitch with the dragons flyin' 'round over head.

Everywhere Shimura went, knights fell like flies, screaming as if in mortal fear. And, most likely, they were. Shimura was growing more and more powerful the longer the battle lasted. The leafe was fading quickly from the area, fueling her power. Kataru's lips twisted into a sneer as he watched her throw a spear, desceptively delicate arms containing loads of strength. "Like HELL I'm gonna lose this fight to some heinous twig o' a girl," he snarled. He pulled what leafe he could from the earth and sent it all into shaping itself like a spear, heading not at the Queen of Nightmares herself but at her dragons. The trick worked before...

And worked again. The dragons screamed, flames licking the sky as they plummeted to the ground, landing on anyone, friend or foe, int their wake.

"Saeko, Caias, gather the Red Guard and follow me! KEI! GET OF YER BLOODY FAT ARSE AND GET THEM BLOODY SHADOW DEMONS!"

"I'M NOT THE ONE TOO FAT FOR HIS ARMOR," Kei shouted back before wheeling midair, Sete following close behind. Kataru had no clue what the wench was doing there, but he usually found it better (and safer for his sensitive spot) to not argue with the Knight of Healing. And he was NOT too fat for his armor! It just... was smaller than he remembered.

The Red Guard assembled around and behind him. Kataru ran across the ground with them on his heels, making for the chariot wreck. Knights from both sides were scrambling from the wreckage, dragging comrades both dead and alive with them. Kataru skidded to a halt with the guards as a terrifically loud shriek broke through the air and Shimura emerged from the chariot ruins, blood spattering her white dress and pale eyes seething with unimaginable rage. Jolly good, he liked a fiesty woman!

"'Allo, Shimura, darlin'. Look pretty good for someone yer age," Kataru taunted.

Shimura's eyes turned even deadlier. He hadn't thought it possible. "YOU!" That was all she screamed before she slammed her power into them, bowling the guards over in a sudden burst of leafe energy. Kataru had guessed the move and thrown a shield up just in time.

"Yer gonna have ta do better than that, darlin'," he shouted spear twirling over his wrist expertly, waiting. "I beat ya before, an' I don't intend to lose round two!"

She laughed. The bitch actually LAUGHED! "The Knight of Flowers... is the Topaz Prince? I should have guessed, I should have guessed! It was too obvious! The plant leafe falls under the domain of earth... I should have guessed!" She continued to laugh, the eeriely beautiful sound sending shivers down his spine, and NOT the good kind of shivers either!

"Oi... I fail ta see what so funny 'bout me kickin' yer ruddy arse from here back to that hole ya call a palace," he commented, confused by her sudden glee. Couldn't be good if she found it so damn amusing!

"You beat me... before because... you had nothing... to fear!" she said between giggles. "You have fear now, Topaz Prince!"

"Eh? Yer bloody mad. Usually, I like crazy people. They tell bloody good stories. But you... yer just too damn crazy even fer me!"

Shimura finally controlled her giggles. "I thought she was important from the start. I'm glad to realize why now." Her gaze slid over and Kataru couldn't help but follow it.

His eyes widened as a nightmage came forward, appearing out of nowhere and holding a knife to a pale throat. Aw... shit! "That's not Mawata," he said firmly. Mawata screamed as the knife sunk in a little, pulling a thin line of blood. The battle raged around them, all of it ignored as he focused his attention on this. It couldn't be Mawata... he sent a trickle of leafe out to see. Nightmages gave off no leafe, even when working a spell. If it was a nightmage taking on her shape...

His stomach sank into his boots as the understanding slammed into him harder than food poisoning. She had leafe... leafe that could potentially become Pretear. That really WAS Mawata! "Aw, double shit!"

Shimura's laughter rang in his ears. Kataru knew what would be required to save Mawata... he just wished he'd understood sooner what falling in love NOW would mean. He'd beaten Shimura before because he had nothing to fear or lose. Now he did, and she was standing before him with a knife to her throat and looking more scared than he'd ever seen her. "DOUBLE SHIT!"


	14. The Final Battle

CHAPTER 14: The Final Battle

Hayate fell to his knees, hand going to his shoulder to try and stop some of the bleeding. Ginshima still huddled over his brother's body, sobbing. He knew Kinshima wasn't dead. There was a thread of leafe still connecting him and keeping his heart pumping. Good. He didn't want to kill them, even if that was their goal for him. Slowly pushing to his feet, he stumbled over to the two, placing a blooding hand on the soft silver of Ginshima's shirt. "Ginshima, look at me."

The Knight of Silver turned teary, horror stricken eyes up to him. "Just leave us! I won't let you take my brother's body as a trophy."

Weak still, he allowed himself to go to one knee before the other, keeping his hand on his shoulder. "Ginshima, I don't want you to lose your brother."

"He's already lost! Stop mocking me!"

"No, he's alive, but barely. I can feel the leafe inside him fighting to hold on. Can't you?"

Ginshima stopped sobbing, picking his head up from his brother's barely rising chest. His eyes widened and the tears fell faster when he realized what Hayate said was true. "He's... he's... but, there's no way to save him! You might as well have killed him!"

Biting back the pained hiss, Hayate said softly, "There is one way he can be saved. One person has the ability to call him back. And she's hidden somewhere in this castle. Tell me where the White Pretear is, and I promise you she'll do her best to restore Kinshima's leafe." He knew there was no guarantee Himeno could become the White Pretear at will, but he was hoping that maybe, just maybe, she could figure it out and do it for these two.

Staring at him as if in a trance, Ginshima mumbled, "The door to the left. Go through it and straight down until you come to a set of double doors. The White Pretear is there... and being guarded by Jikan. He begged the honor of our Queen."

Nodding his thanks, Hayate got to his feet again and sprinted for the door, heart hammering wildly. Himeno, alone with Jikan. If that bastard hurt her...

Now he knew what people meant by 'seeing red'. Only, the red he was seeing would be Jikan's blood if Himeno was harmed in anyway.

* * *

**BAM!**

Himeno's fist connected just under his jaw, throwing him backward into the water.

Jikan rose spluttering, nose shattered, blood coming from his mouth. One eye was glued shut from the swelling already starting. Himeno stepped back, eyes set firmly. She wasn't going to kill him... just make sure he hurt very badly and wouldn't follow her when she left. As she expected, the Knight of Time surged forward through the water, bellowing angrily. The few teeth that weren't knocked out showed glistening red.

A quick roundhouse kick to the head and he fell like a bunch of broccoli. This time, he didn't get back up. Himeno's shoulders relaxed and she heaved a sigh of relief. Stupid jerk... She was glad it was over. She grabbed a hold of his shirt and hauled him through the water and up the steps far enough to make sure he didn't slip back in and drown.

Giving his unconscious body a final glare and rubbing her bruised and bleeding knuckles, she opened the wide double doors and walked out...

Right smack dab into someone's solid chest.

"Ow! Would you look where you're going, Tulip-head? I'm a little hurt here!"

Stepping back, Himeno followed the crisscross of cuts up the chest, pausing briefly on a shoulder gushing blood, passed the lips she knew very well and into the eyes of... "Hayate!"

"Yeah, it's me. And you're STILL not looking where you're stepping. Mind getting off my foot?" He was glaring fit to crack her skull open!

Scowling, the annoyance edging out the joy of seeing him alive, she slugged him hard across the good shoulder. "YOU BIG JERK! HERE I AM WORRIED SICK THAT YOU'RE DEAD AND YOU'RE GONNA MAKE FUN OF ME LIKE THAT?"

"Ow! Himeno, wait a sec-," He began backing away from her as she advanced, jabbing him sharply in an uncut area of his chest with each point she made

"And where the HELL have you been? I was in there kicking Jikan's ass and you look like you went through a food processor! Shouldn't you be off at war or something? What are you DOING HERE?"

A dark blush flooded over his cheeks and he looked away, swallowing a little and very nervous. "I, uh... I came to... rescue you?"

Himeno's scowl faded slowly, replaced by parted lips and wide eyes. "Oh... you came to... oh!"

"Not that it matters or anything. It's not like you were going to thank me," he muttered. "I mean, I get caught up with two-mmph!"

She turned the tables on him for a change and kissed him quiet. When his body relaxed into hers and he just started to kiss her back, she drew away, smiling up at him. Then...

WHACK!

"OW! Quit hitting me! Did you miss the part where I said I was hurt or is that tulip hair of yours blocking your ears?"

Crossing her arms over her chest and marching ahead of him, she threw back, "I'm sorry, maybe I didn't slap you hard enough to rattle that brain of yours back in place!"

Hayate ran to catch up with her, grabbing her wrist. She looked down at his slippery fingers, realizing a little late they were covered in blood. "Hey... how hurt are you?" she asked softly, really taking a good look at him.

"Just blood loss," he answered quickly. "I'll live. But... there's someone who won't if we don't hurry to the battle. Once you become the White Pretear, he'll be fine."

Nodding grimly, she said, "Okay. Well, let's go. But I'm not promising miracles here."

"I understand that." Together, they ran from the palace, Hayate grabbing her wrist once they had enough room to take off.

* * *

Kataru ignored the people around him. His guards asking for his orders, the shouts and screams from the battle. All he cared about was in front of him, trying to stay very still. Big turquois-blue eyes held his in a terrified trance. Mawata was struggling to hold the knife away from her throat, tears splashing down her cheeks. This was unexpected... and unwelcomed!

"Decide, Prince! I'm getting bored with waiting," Shimura demanded, smiling as she circled around toward her hostage. Mawata whimpered when a single white finger trailed down her cheek, catching a tear. Shimura licked a quick wet line up Mawata's face, laughing as the girl screamed.

"Oi, you mind not molestin' me girlfriend while I think?" Kataru shouted over angrily. "An' here I thought you liked a good piece o' man."

"I want a decision, Prince, by the time I count to three. One..."

"Or what, you're gonna put me in time out? I'd like to see ya bloody try!"

"Two..." the knife inched in, cutting a thin fresh line across her neck.

Sighing, Kataru looked over at Saeko, who closed his eyes, shoulders dropping in defeat. "Let me hear the terms."

Smile spreading across her cheeks, Shimura nodded, coming closer. Where she stepped the leafe vanished, being absorbed into her almost instantly. She was very tiny and delicate looking, but nothing about that innocent expression fooled any of them. Shimura would snap them in half in a heart beat. "Do you surrender?" she whispered when she was close enough she could have touched him.

The Red Guard bristled, hands tightening around their weapons. "You're invadin' me personal bubble, Shimura. Step back four paces or learn how I keep me pimp hand strong."

Laughing, she stepped back three, deliberately not doing as he'd said but agreeing to the request for more room. "Answer the question, Knight of Earth."

"Topaz Prince, an' don't forget the title again."

"Why? It's not like there WILL be a prince by the end of the day."

"I'm gettin' bored, Shimura. Terms, if yer done bein' dramatic?"

Clasping her hands behind her back, the very picture of innocent child, she said, "Obviously, I want you to step down."

Kataru rolled his eyes. "Well duh, love. I don't think there's a knight here who didn't know that!"

"I want you to be sealed away forever inside your Palace, along with the knights most likely to succeed you. That means your two precious guards and the blue-eyed captain. After that, I want tribute in the form of knights offering me leafe-,"

"So you can drain us dead? Unacceptable!"

Frowning at his outburst, she continued, "Not to die. But it is hardly fair to my Dark Knights that I use their leafe, especially when I will have such pretty new slaves. And that is exactly what your people will be. Twice a month, one Leafe Knight will be brought before me. I will take their leafe just short of killing them, return them and later that month I will pick a new one. It's more than fair considering they're slaves. And the White Pretear..."

Kataru's back stiffened. "What about Himeno?" Hayate was gonna have his hide if he made any deals concerning her!

"She will be kept as my... guest. Inside my castle, never to see the light of day again. She will grow old and die there, never able to pret or cause trouble again. So, Knight of Earth, what is your answer?"

He opened his mouth, ready to speak.

* * *

Kei paused in circling the air, looking down. There was Kataru... and he was talking with Shimura! What the... "Sete, look!"

Sete stopped next to him, looking down. "There's someone else down there, too... Oh, my God!"

He knew what she was 'oh my God'ing about when Shimura moved closer to Kataru. "It's Mawata!"

"Mawata? Where?" Sete demanded.

Glaring at her, he stabbed his finger downward. "YOU just alerted ME to her presence! Have you finally lost what little sanity you had left?"

"Keep talking and you're going to find out what a boot to the groin feels like first hand! And I wasn't refering to Mawata. Look!"

Kei followed where she was pointing, eyes widening. "It's about damn time, too! I'm sick of running things. Speaking of which... MANNEN! IF I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO STICK WITH SHIN ONE MORE DAMN TIME..."

Mannen made a face at him before flying quickly back to Shin's side.

Sete touching his hand made him look back over at her. Her green eyes were narrowed, watching something below. "Kei... look!"

Looking down again, his eyes widened even more. Incredible... "THAT'S new."

"Huh? How is that new? She's always been-,"

"On her own."

Sete almost fell from the sky in shock. "You mean never... with... holy CRAP!"

Kei nodded nervously. "Let's, uh... go this way. Just in case something bad happens. Like they explode or something."

The two quickly went to aide Hajime, Shin and Mannen who were being over run by Dark Knights.

* * *

"I-," Kataru started to say.

"HEY! Just what the hell are you doing, taking my sister like that!"

Kataru spun around with the others as Himeno and a very blood covered Hayate came forward, both looking geared up for a fight. "Did yer banshee do this?" Kataru joked, relieved they were finally there. With the White Pretear... if she could BECOME the White Pretear that is...

Shimura's jaw dropped shortly before she let out a terrific scream, high pitched and loud enough to make them cover their ears. It went on for a good minute before she stopped, eyes glowing pale blue. "You... how can you be here? Jikan was supposed to kill you!"

"I'm not gonna let a jerk like him beat me," Himeno replied, hands in fists by her sides.

The Queen of Nightmares' shoulders were shaking, fingernails biting into her palms so tightly blood flowed. Her white skin took on a glowing quality, shimmering with a cold white light. The air around her began to crackle with pale blue lightening, a wind surrounding her, whipping her hair back. "Is that so?"

Everyone, even her own knights, began backing away from her. "Uh... never seen this trick before," Kataru muttered. He glanced over and saw the nightmage was being distracted by the show. Perfect! Grabbing the spear out of one of the guard's hands, he spun toward the nightmage, embedding the spear directly in it's shriveled grey head. It screamed loudly, almost as loud as it's mistress had, black blood gushing forth and spilling across Mawata's shoulder. She screamed, too, jumping up and down to try and get it off her.

Kataru sprinted over and grabbed her by the waist, spinning her out of the way just as a blast of pale blue exploded in the ground where they had stood. "That bitch! She almost burned me girlfriend," Kataru shouted. He got up off of Mawata, who was shaking on the ground. "You stay right here, love. Saeko, Caias! Get yerselves over here and guard her. If she gets so much as a bug landin' on her, I'm having yer nads on a plate!"

"Must you be so vulgar, sir?" Saeko asked as they did what they were told. The look on Caias' face said the same thing.

"Oi, don't argue with the prince, mates! Just...watch her. I'm gonna go back and... Holy sweet JAYSUS!"

Everyone else turned around at his startled exclaimation as a white light began to spread around them. Unlike the deadly blue lightening from Queen of Nightmares, this white light felt... good. Where it touched wounds were healed, leafe restored. Kataru and the Red Guard gaped in awe at the figure throwing off the warm white light. "Unbelievable!"

* * *

Himeno and Hayate stood their ground as the rest of the Red Guard ran to their prince. Mawata was safe. Now, to take care of the Queen of Nightmares. This enemy was different than the others before her. As quickly as she was absorbing the leafe she was turning it to her use. "Hayate?" she asked softly.

"Yes?" he answered, eyes still trained on Shimura as she continued draining all the leafe from the area, channeling it into building her power. The electric lightening was starting to break free, hitting whoever it felt like. Shimura wasn't even trying to control it. She didn't care who she hurt so long as someone screamed. The air was being whipped up by this power, pulling long strands of his dark hair free,

"Becoming the White Pretear on my own... won't be enough, will it?"

His silence was answer enough.

Lips set in a firm line, Himeno turned to face him. She didn't come all this way just to sit back while everyone suffered! And she wasn't about to lose to Shimura, not after all they'd been through. She wouldn't be beaten! She had to help everyone, even the Dark Knights. Becoming the White Pretear alone wouldn't be enough. There was only one other choice. She held her hand out to him.

"Hayate, pret with me."

Eyes widening a touch, he smiled and took her hand, knowing full well what she intended to do and trusting her to do it.

The familiar warmth flooded her as he entered her mind. It had always been easier to pret with Hayate. Even back when they were fighting all the time, she'd trusted him to keep her safe. And now, they were going to use their bond to keep everyone else safe. She knew before when she'd become the White Pretear on her own that it had been something never done before. But it wasn't the complete package. Being a Pretear meant preting with a knight. And without a knight inside her, she was only reaching half the potential. She could feel Hayate's emotions, a mixture of nervousness at something they'd never done before and excitement over the same thing. There was one thought that came through a little more clearly than the others: _What if preting with her now will result in me ending up like Jikan?_

Sighing, she said outloud, "It won't stupid. I was trying to force him out when that happened. I wouldn't ever do that to you."

Relief, amusement and a faint feeling of love came through. "_Alright, let's do this! Shimura has to be storing the leafe somewhere inside her, like a larvae core. We need to focus our attack on that."_

"Right." She knew how to trigger the change from the Pretear of Wind to the White Pretear. It was her need to save the others. She knew without asking that Hayate wanted to same thing. So long as they were both agreed, then it...

The air around them began to move, leafe filling it to the point where she swore she could feel the different air particles brushing against her hands, her arms. Everything was glowing white now, so bright she could hardly see. It blinded her to everything except...

Except the black core near Shimura's middle, the one greedily sucking the new leafe in.

Taking a deep breath, Himeno calmed herself down and gave herself over to the change completely. This had to work! To save the Leafe Knights... the Dark Knights... Mawata... The need acted as the final shove, forcing the air leafe to explode from inside her, channeling itself into that black void which accepted it gladly. Whatever they gave it, it greedily soaked up, adding to the power building around Shimura. Quick blue flashes became brighter and brighter as the whiteness surrounded it, containing it so it didn't hurt others. The lightening itself was starting to be sucked into that hole, drawn in by the amount of wind leafe being produced. The Queen of Nightmares was eating her own power.

Someone was screaming. Himeno wasn't sure if it was her, Hayate or Shimura. But someone was screaming loud and long as the White Pretear of Wind continued filling that hole to the point of bursting. There was a dull boom, something that rocked against the nearly solid air particles around her but didn't touch her hovering form. And then...

The light faded and there was nothing.


	15. Waking Up?

CHAPTER 15: Waking Up

"_Himeno... Himeno?"_

_Himeno blinked her eyes open slowly. Sunshine warmed her skin and a gentle breeze kept it from getting too hot. Something wet was touching her toes, there and then gone only to come back again. She picked her head up enough see what it was. The ocean. She smiled and closed her eyes again, stretching out on the warm sand beneath her. It felt SO GOOD just to finally relax. This place was so peaceful. She didn't want to leave it, not ever._

_There was was a brush of fingers against her cheek and she turned her head into it, opening her eyes again. Hayate sat next to her, hair blowing free. His knees were tucked up to his chest so she couldn't tell if the thin white shirt was completely unbuttoned or just partially. He smiled gently and continued to cares her cheek in softly. "You're finally awake," she heard his voice say. His lips never moved though._

_Smiling back, she held his hand to her cheek, kissing his wrist gently. "Sorry, was I out long?" She wasn't sure if her mouth moved, but the words were there. How strange..._

_Hayate laughed softly, thumb running aliong her lower lip. "Not very."_

_Sighing, she snuggled in against his side. He stretched out next to her, using an arm as a cushion for his head. "Did we win?" she asked, mind touching briefly on the battle. She couldn't remember much of it. Everything was just so fuzzy!_

_"Yes, we won. It's all over now. Shimura's been contained, her army defeated. There's nothing left we need to do." His arm tightened around her waist, tucking her up against his chest. "We can stay here forever even if you want."_

_She smiled at the thought of just staying, with him, on this lovely beach. Sea gulls screeched over head, the ocean roared in the back ground. It was a perfect place... so why did she feel something was missing? "Hayate?"_

_"Yes?" He sounded almost as if he'd been about to drift to sleep again on her._

_"Let's go back. I want to see Mawata again. And Blaise and Kei and Mannen and Hajime and Shin. I wanna see them all again and show them this place. Sete would love it here."_

_He sighed, sounding disappointed. "Are you sure? I'm exhausted and I can only imagine you are as well. Let's just stay here... and sleep a bit..."_

_Himeno slugged him in the shoulder, hard. "We can sleep at home! Let's go see the others."_

_Grumbling, Hayate opened his eyes again slowly. It took a little more effort, but he finally got to his feet. Together, they walked hand in hand down the beach. The distance faded away into the soft white light of the sun reflecting off of crested waves. "Do you even know where we're going, Tulip-head?" This time, his lips DID move when he spoke._

_It was getting colder and colder the closer they came to the end of the beach. Grinning, Himeno nodded. "We're going home, dummy!"_

* * *

No one moved an inch closer to the pair. Mawata was clinging to his blood spattered armor, sobbing and almost unable to stand. Kataru stared blankly at the two on the ground. Hayate was on his side with one arm limply draped over Himeno's stomach. Himeno lay on her back, head tilted toward Hayate. Neither one was moving. "Sete," Kataru finally croaked out, swallowing heavily passed the tears choking him. "SETE!"

Sete blinked tear filled green eyes. "Sir... the leafe... I-I can't without... without leafe to rebuild..."

He knew what she was saying. There wasn't any leafe IN them to heal. And if there wasn't any leafe... "Well, I don't like that answer. Try anyway."

"Kataru, there's nothing-," Kei began.

"I SAID TO BLOODY TRY IT, NOW TRY IT!"

Sete winced at the shouted command. Slowly she walked forward, Kei right behind her with a hand on her lower back to offer a little comfort. She knelt down, hands hovering over Himeno first. A soft green light formed under her hands. Everyone was holding their breath, waiting anxiously for some kind of miracle. After several tense minutes, Sete's hands dropped and her shoulders curled forward in defeat.

"It's no good," she whispered. Kei pulled her in, stroking her long hair back and kissed her cheek as she finally began to cry silently. He heard Shin's and Hajime's wails shortly before the two flung themselves on Himeno and Hayate, Shin screaming for them to wake up.

"Damn it, will someone get the little ones out of here?" Kei snarled, wiping angrily at his own eyes. It wasn't right for them to see their captain and Pretear like this! Hell, it was more than that. No child should see ANYONE they considered family like this.

Pasha and Ravijot stepped forward, Ravijot easily guiding Hajime away while Pasha quite literally fought Shin, prying his tiny fingers open from Hayate's blood soaked shirt.

Once they were out of sight, Kataru finally gave way and pressed the heel of his hand into his eye, sniffling. Mawata had fallen to her knees, still clinging to him and was crying almost as loud as the little ones had been. His fingers wound through her mussed up curls shortly before her hand found his and held it in a death grip. Clearing his throat again, he said, "We need to... we need to pick them up, get them out of the mud. Someone make a stretcher or two. We'll take them back to the Palace... give them a right proper..." He couldn't even finish it. That was his best mate, his brother, lying there looking so damn peaceful while covered in blood. It wasn't FAIR! It just wasn't... Shaking his head, Kataru lifted Mawata to her feet, guiding her away.

This wasn't how things were supposed to end! All those fairy tales about brave knights and princesses defeating evil... what bullshit! THIS was the reality! Himeno and Hayate had given everything they had to save them all... and THIS was how such a selfless act was repaid! Slowly, his guards filed in behind him as he continued walking Mawata away from her sister's body. It was unfathomable to refer to those two as 'bodies'. It wasn't right, it wasn't fair and he just didn't bloody LIKE it!

* * *

Kei watched numbly as two knights tied a cloak between two spears, another two working on the same make-shift stretcher not too far away. God... after all that... He couldn't believe it. There was a saying among the knights that being a team captain cuts your life in half, but being a Pretear cuts it down to a third. He'd always thought it was crap until today. It was hard imagining going back to the safe house now. Hayate had always been a calming presence, even when he was pissed off. They all stayed together because of HIM. And Himeno... not hearing her laughter, her shouting... eating her God-awful food. She was too young, far too young, to have died like this! He rocked Sete back and forth gently, her nails biting into his shoulders through the fabric of his shirt.

He buried his face against her neck and shoulder to hide his own tears. Another weight settled beside him and it took him a second to realize it was Feryn, eyes red as he fought not to cry. Kei scowled at him and snarled, "Stop trying to act like a man and bawl your damn eyes out already!" Feryn blinked in surprise before he offered a very weak smile, tears finally breaking free.

Knights were already carefully laying the bodies onto the stretchers to be taken back with all due reverence to the Palace. Kei refused to let Sete look, even when she struggled to push away. It had been completely unfair of Kataru to ask her to heal them, knowing full well she couldn't! Now she was going to feel guilty for being unable to save them. Damn that man! He was so focused on Sete's pain that he didn't notice the murmur coming from those still around them.

It took Feryn urgently shaking him to get him to look up. "For the love of God, what?" he snapped.

"_Mon Dieu! Comment cela se fait possible?_"

"What the hell did you just mutter?" Kei drew back from Sete, completely confused over the Frenchman's babbling. He frowned when he noticed how wide Feryn's eyes were. Whatever had him shocked to that he resorted to full blown French was behind him. That was when to murmurs of astonishment came to his ears.

"_Ils etes vivantes! Kei, ecoutez!"_

Sete sat up sniffling and wiping her eyes, giving Kei a bleary eyed glare. "Someone slap him or gag him or translate," she muttered.

Ignoring her, Kei, turned slightly to see what had gotten the Frenchman's attention. And then he very nearly fainted dead away. "Impossible! How is it possible?"

"That is just what I SAID," Feryn shouted angrily, shoving Kei roughly.

"Touch me again like that and I'm turning Sete loose on you!" Sete scowled at him before following his startled gaze. She gasped, sitting up and staring with the rest of them.

Not a person dared to breathe when Himeno's hand twitched again. That utter stillness was broken by a soft groan from Hayate. ANd then...

Everyone was screaming at once. Sete shoved her way through the people, already calling up her leafe to help stop the wounds.

"Someone, catch up with the Topaz Prince," Kei shouted above the noise. "And get some damn gauze as well! Sete can't take care of all of this on her own!" He continued issuing orders left and right, knights flying through the air, Pretears crowding close in case Sete needed help. All the while, one thought kept pounding itself through his head; Himeno and Hayate were alive! And was he going to let them have it for scaring the piss out of him!

* * *

Himeno opened her eyes slowly, puzzled by the fact she was no longer on that beach but in a soft bed. She was dimly aware of faint sunlight coming through curtain drawn around the bed, of a weight across her stomach, a warmth to her side... and of being incredibly sore! She doubted there was a muscle that didn't ache. Her hands had been wrapped in gauze strips, bandaids on her cheek and across her split lip. She reached up, wincing at having to move her arm, and peeled the plastic strip off of her lip. "Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

The weight across her stomach tightened a little before the warmth shifted. Hayate's breath stirred the hairs of her neck as he snuggled in closer. She turned to him slowly, seeing him for the first time since the beach. Funny, there he didn't look this crappy. There was a deep cut above his eye that had been stitched up and gauze covered his entire upper chest as well as most of his arms. She couldn't see under the covers but could imagine they went well below his pants, too.

"Hey... Hayate? Are you awake?"

"I am now," he mumbled, blue eyes parting only a fraction to meet hers.

Himeno smiled, turning onto her side, hissing at the sharp stab going through her chest. "I think we survived."

"Hn... hurray for us. Can I sleep now?"

"No! I wanna talk. I had a really weird dream. It was good, but it was weird. We were on a beach-,"

"-And you wanted to show it to everyone," he finished, eyes fully open now and looking concerned.

Himeno froze, the warmth suddenly fading from her. That was just... "Creepy. We had the same dream." She shivered a little and regretted it instantly as it forced her back to move. Ouch! She felt like she'd been forced under a steam roller, blown back up and then slammed back down by an anvil!

"Yeah, that IS creepy," Hayate teased, kissing her nose before letting his eyes close again.

"Don't be such an asshole. Hey, Hayate?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think... do you think maybe we...?"

Hayate's eyes opened again to give her a thoughtful stare. She waited, wanting to bite her swollen lower lip but not daring to because of the cut. "I don't know. It could have been just the fact that we went down while still preted."

Smiling, Himeno carefully draped her arm over a spot that didn't look too badly damaged and sighed. "Maybe. Go to sleep now, Hayate."

"About time, too."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was seriously THIS CLOSE to killing them... but I couldn't bring myself to do it! And sorry if the French isn't super accurate. I'm a little rusty, hehe... anyway, just one more chapter and an epilogue and that's it for Sweet Dreams! WAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


	16. Home At Last!

CHAPTER 16: Home At Last!

The bus pulled up to the safe house and the doors opened. Mr. Tanaka still glared disapprovingly at Himeno's less-than-perfect state but didn't remark on it. The initial freak out that Mrs. Awayuki would think it was because of him being a careless driver were quickly replaced with a haughty demeanor for 'hooliganism'. Kataru had declared hooliganism the word of the day and was working it into conversation as much as possible.

"Shall I wait for you, Miss Mawata?" Mr. Tanaka asked solicitously.

"No, thank you," Mawata answered, smiling when Kataru wrapped his arms around her from behind. "But would you mind taking Himeno's and my bags back to the mansion?"

"You have but to ask, Miss Mawata." Mr. Tanaka glared at Kataru, who winked and gave him an evil grin. The doors slid shut to the bus and little man drove away.

"YAY! We're home!" Hajime declared, running for the door and practically hopping up and down as Feryn pulled the keys from on top of the doorway. "I wonder if my fish;s dead!"

"He's not dead," Mannen grumbled. "I WISH he was so we could flush 'im down the toilet!"

"That's so mean, Mannen," Shin admonished. Shin screamed and ran away as the Knight of Ice began to chase him.

"Damn it, Mannen, could you BE any more annoying?" Kei snarled.

"Get all that sand out yet?" Mannen fired back.

"You little... just you wait until we get inside!"

Hajime and Shin sprinted through the one story house as soon as Feryn had the door open, both eager to see if the fish really HAD died like Mannen told them it would on the bus. Feryn and Yayoi followed them in and quickly disappeared into his room.

"God... and the procreation begins," Sete muttered, shaking her head.

Kei arched a brow. "You live to scar me emotionally, don't you? I don't even want to THINK about little Feryn's running around this place! Those three are more than enough children in this house."

"Aw... but you two would make such lovely parents," Kataru teased, slinging his arm around Mawata's shoulders.

The death glares the couple gave him were enough to make him step behind Mawata again for cover.

Ginshima and Kinshima stood to one side awkwardly. After the fight, they'd come to the Palace of Leafenia with a present... Jikan tied up and looking worse than ever. Kataru had ordered Jikan to be imprisoned below forever before granting the twins their freedom. Both had been shocked and begged to be punished. So, the Topaz Prince gave them the worst punishment he could think of... they were to join Hayate's team as Leafe Knights and help protect the real world from evil. The twins were now wearing borrowed clothing from Hayate and Kei since they didn't have civilian apparel. Or any possessions either. Tomorrow, Kei and Feryn were going to take them out shopping. It had already been decided they could have Kataru's old room since he would have to return to the Palace now. Saeko and Caias had gone ahead to prepare his old rooms for his arrival.

Himeno smiled over at the twins. "Hey, tomorrow's Wednesday, right? That's when we have a board game night. Maybe while you two are out you can pick up a new game."

Both exchanged worried looks. "A board game?"

Oh... right. They didn't have a clue about much in the civilian world. "Kei can help you, but don't pick anything boring like Scrabble!"

"Scrabble's NOT boring," Kei responded. "You just don't like it because you lose all the time."

"ANYWAY," Himeno shouted over what he said, "Get something we can all play together, okay?"

"As you wish, Pre- Himeno," Kinshima corrected quickly. They were still trying to get used to how casual everything was now.

Kataru clapped them both on the shoulder and said, "Now, lemme show you two the best bloody room in the house; mine! Follow me, mates, and don't mind all the posters an' such. I'll be sendin' me guards over tomorrow to collect all me shite to decorate at home. Mawata, love, you comin'?"

Mawata grinned and followed him inside. Kei and Sete were right behind them, arguing as usual over something trivial.

This left Himeno and Hayate all alone outside the house. She smiled up at him when his hand found hers, thumb moving in small circles. "So..."

"So..."

Himeno's eyes closed as he leaned down, lips brushing against her forehead gently. "I'll unpack and then walk you back home," he whispered before he kissed both her cheeks.

"Okay," she whispered back shortly before he kissed her softly. It was more a brush of lips than an actual kiss but it was enough to get her heart pounding.

Letting out a small sigh, Hayate drew back and dropped her hand to pick up his bags. Himeno followed him in, grinning at the shriek coming from Sete and Kei's threats of severe pain as Mannen and Hajime went running from his room. Kei came running after them, hair messed up and shirtless. "MANNEN! This time it's for real!"

"Gotta catch me first," Mannen taunted.

Himeno hid her smile behind her hand as a thoroughly pissed Sete came storming out, cheeks flushed and pulling her shirt down a little. She spotted the two of them trying not to laugh and snarled, "Better start auditioning for two more knights, Hayate. I'm gonna help flay those two within an inch of their lives!" She disappeared in a sharp click of heels on the wooden floor, stepping out the sliding glass door into the back yard where Kei was still trying to chase Mannen down. Hajime had stopped and was laughing so hard he couldn't stand. That quickly stopped when he noticed Sete glaring down at him.

Snuggling in closer as Hayate hugged her to him and walked down the hall, Himeno smiled. It was sure nice to be home again. Hayate closed the door to his room once they were inside, dropping his bag on the floor. "I'll be quick, okay? You're probably tired," he said.

She didn't want him to hurry or anything... but she WAS tired and she knew there was no way her dad would let her spend her first night back at her boyfriend's. He was probably a wreck the entire time she was gone. Himeno stretched out on his bed, hugging his pillow to her. She watched as he moved around the room, sorting out what needed to be cleaned before folding up the rest of it and putting it away. It made her sad when the last pair of jeans were put where they needed to be.

Hayate lay down next to her, brushing his hand against her cheek, being careful of the huge black eye. He wasn't much better than her. There were still stitches from several smaller cuts all along his forearms, and one right above his eyebrow. Sete had told him he was lucky it wouldn't be a very noticeable scar. She'd used as much leafe as she could to heal the more major injuries, like the ones that went all the way through his gut.

"It feels kinda weird, doesn't it?" she asked softly, putting her arm around his waist. She moved it lower to his hip when he winced. She'd forgotten his entire left side was nothing but blackened bruising. One of the twins had slammed into him with their shield during their duel.

"What does?" he replied, eyes searching hers. She knew just by looking in his eyes exactly what he felt toward her. It made her stomach flip-flop and her heart speed up.

"Being home. It's really like everything that happened was a bad dream. Except... well, it wasn't. Do you think Shimura will ever wake up again?"

After the fight, Shimura's body had been discovered. She was still very much alive, but in a comatose state which no one could wake her from. Kataru had taken her and sealed her away somewhere secret, a place only he knew how to get to. She wouldn't be escaping from there anytime soon.

Hayate let out a long breath, closing his eyes. "I don't know. Most likely not. As far as Sete can tell, she's been trapped in a permanent dream state."

How appropriate, she thought, snuggling in as close as she could without hurting him. His lips touched her forehead gently before he tucked her head under his chin, running his fingers through her hair. "Hayate?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think... we'll ever have to fight someone as powerful as her again?"

"Probably not. The Queen of Nightmares is an evil unlike any other. If there were anyone else with her power out there, we would have found out about them by now."

"Oh... good. Because I kinda think it would be nice to take it easy a little."

She felt his laugh through his chest. "Me, too, Tulip-head." Sighing again, he drew back and sat up. "Come on, let's get you home."

Himeno sat up grudgingly. "Fine, fine! Dad's not gonna be happy about the black eye."

"And your mom's not going to be happy about Mawata's hair!"

The thought of Natsue's shock at seeing her usually shy daughter's violet and white striped hair was enough to make her grin and stand up. "Well, let's get going! I wanna see mom pass out in shock!"

Hayate smiled back and followed her out the door.

>>>>>>>>>>

"OH! My poor girl! What happened to you? Daddy was so worried about his little baby girl!"

"Dad..." Himeno shoved him back as he hugged her tightly, tears trembling in his eyes. This was exactly what she'd been afraid of!

"Sir, I'm sorry about Himeno being in this condition-," Hayate began to explain.

Kaoru interupted him. "I'm sure it was all because she was off saving the world again! Wasn't it, Biddle Boo?"

Himeno's glare slid back to Hayate, who mouthed the stupid nickname before grinning wickedly. And she thought Tulip-head was bad! There was no doubt in her mind he was going to use this against her. The jerk!

"YOUR HAIR! WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR HAIR?"

Himeno looked over her dad's shoulders just in time to see Mr. Tanaka rush up with a chair for her mom, who fell into it as if she knew it would be there. Natsue fanned herself with one hand and looked about ready to cry herself. "Mawata, what is everyone going to THINK when they see this?"

"Maybe they'll think it's the best hairdo ever," Mawata answered softly, only half joking with her mother.

Natsue's glare flickered over to Kataru, who grinned and purposely ran a casual hair back through his matching locks. "And who are you again?"

"The name's Kataru, Mrs. Awayuki," he said, holding out his hand and giving her his most charming smile.

"Kataru... why does that sound familiar?"

"Well, it could be because I'm wanted in about seven different countries."

It was obvious when the glare darkend further that Natsue found the joke less than amusing.

Mawata nudged him sharply, trying hard not to laugh. "It's not permanent dye, mom," she reassured her.

Natsue let out a long relieved breath before smiling. "Well, you're just in time for dinner, if you two wish to stay. I believe it's almond crusted halibut tonight."

Kataru made a little face. "Wish we could, Mrs. A, but we've gotta get goin'. Thanks though, maybe next time. I love me a good halibut!" He quickly grabbed Hayate's arm and tugged him out of the house. Himeno smiled and waved as the door shut behind them.

"Dinner will be ready in about five minutes, girls, so be quick about washing up," Natsue instructed.

"Actually, I'm kinda tired. I think I'll just go to bed," Himeno said cheerfully.

Her dad looked as if he'd need a chair soon, too. "YOU... not HUNGRY? What happened to the bottomless pit? Where's the stomach that won the Taganawa Eating Championship four years in a row?"

"Oh, it'll be back tomorrow, don't worry about that," she laughed, patting said stomach. "But right now, it's too tired. G'night!" She hurried up the wide staircase to her room, locking the door as she turned on the lights.

The bed had already been turned down invitingly, her favorite tulip pajamas set out for her. Himeno quickly got changed, putting on a robe and slippers before opening the balcony doors. The night was beautiful, the perfect temperature with just a light breeze to keep things from being too muggy. Stars dotted the inky sky and a sliver of moon hung in the sky. She'd never seen stars like this until she'd moved here. In the city, everything had been hidden in a haze of electric light.

She smiled and went over to the flowering bush on its little stand. Someone (probably her dad) had been watering it while she was gone. Bending over to smell the blossoms, she whispered, "Hi, mom." Himeno sat back on her knees, hands on her robe pockets. The ring Hayate had given her caught on the threads a little, but she wasn't taking it off, not for anything in the world.

"You won't believe how crazy this all was," she continued, knowing her mom was listening. "I almost didn't make it this time. They even tried to use you against me. Naturally, I kicked their ass for it! But... I'm still a little scared to go to sleep. I mean, what if it ISN'T over? I don't want to have those nightmares again. They were just awful! So, mom, can you do me a favor and make sure I don't have any bad dreams tonight? Because I'm really tired and I really want to sleep well tonight."

The wind blew up a little, carrying the sweet scent of the peablossoms with it. Himeno took a deep breath in and smiled when she caught another familiar smell. She knew exactly who was on the balcony with her, and she didn't mind in the least he'd heard her talking to her mom. "Mom, this is Hayate. He's my boyfriend. You'd like him, even if he can be a pig-headed peeping tom every once in a while."

"Are we REALLY going to go through this again?" Hayate demanded.

Himeno grinned and looked over her shoulder at where he was leaning against the house, arms crossed over his chest and glaring at her. "And did I mention how sexy he looks when he's mad? Of course, being called out as a pervert is bound to make ANYONE mad, especially if it's true!"

"I'm NOT a pervert, a peeping tom, or anything else that implies I'm in anyway as dirty as Kataru!"

She laughed and stood up, going over to him. He refused to uncross his arms or even look at her. "I don't think there's anyone as dirty as him." She hugged him around the waist, leaning her head against his upper arm.

It took him a second more of pouting before he slowly unfolded his arms and brought her in closer to him. He was very carefully keeping her off his left side. "You're such a Tulip-head!"

"Yeah, but you love me for it, admit it!"

"I don't have to admit a damn thing."

Himeno's smile widened before she looked up at him and saw a little curve of lip to suggest he might be smiling as well. "Hayate?"

"Yes?"

She leaned up and kissed him, one hand slipping behind his neck to pull him down a little. Both of them took their time with it, mouths moving slow and deep together. Her heart skipped a beat when one of his hands came to her stomach, bared by her pajama top when she'd stretched back for him. Himeno turned around in his arms so that she was facing him and his hand was now on the small of her back.

"It's kinda cold out now," she commented against his lips, grabbing a fistful of shirt and pulling him in after her.

"Just a little," he answered, hands cupping her face to kiss her more deeply. Himeno shut the balcony doors behind her, squirming when he decided to poke her side, tickling her.

"Don't do that!"

"What, this?" he teased, doing it again.

"Damn it! We were having such a romantic moment before you went and ruined it," she ranted.

Hayate smiled and kissed both of her cheeks very lightly. "Sorry."

Himeno's arms went around his neck again when his lips finally connected with hers again. "Such a jerk..." She pressed up closer to him, wanting to be as close as possible with clothing on.

"Ow!" He winced and pulled back, his hand going to his left ribs.

"Oh... oh! I'm so sorry! Did it really hurt?" She had totally forgotten how injured he still was! Stupid idiot... getting all caught up in the hormones and not being more conscious of her boyfriend!

"Yes, it did... and it's okay," he groaned. "But I think I'm going to call it an evening, if you don't mind." Hayate began to go back to the balcony, ready to fly off back to the safe house.

"Or... maybe you could stay and wait for me to fall asleep?" Himeno asked. She really didn't want to be alone so soon after what had happened.

Hayate's eyes flickered over to the door. "What about...?"

"It's locked and you can leave early tomorrow morning. PLEEEASE?"

Shoulders slumping in defeat to her begging, he took his shoes off, settled his jacket over the end of the bed and pulled his belt free. Himeno went and clicked the lights off while he did that. "Whatever you want... Biddle Boo!"

"ARGH! I hate you so much at times! I'd rather have you call me Tulip-head than Biddle Boo!" Himeno scowled as she stomped over to the bed, kicking her slippers into the far wall and throwing her robe on the floor. She crawled under the warm blankets, giving him her back.

"I'd rather call you that, too. Biddle Boo's too weird for me." The bed dipped as he settled in, lying on his back.

Himeno closed her eyes, letting the warmth of his body close to hers lull her slowly toward sleep.

"Himeno?"

She blinked and scowled. "I was almost asleep. Whaddya want?"

"Sweet dreams," Hayate whispered.

Himeno smiled. "You, too."

**THE END!**


	17. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

The school bell rang shrilly and soon after the double doors swung wide, allowing a sea of girls to leave, all dressed in the same plaid skirts, sweater vests, ties and dress shirts. As they hurried out the gates, they all stopped and stared before giggling and whispering to themselves. It wasn't often, after all, that three completely GORGEOUS guys hung around outside the gates!

Kataru grinned, winking at a blonde who offered to have his children. The boy waiting for her didn't look to thrilled by the idea. The other boyfriends standing around were glaring daggers at them as well. "Oi, you realize we're the hottest bloody men here, right?" he asked the other two.

Hayate glanced around, completely unconcerned with that fact. Feryn smiled coyly, his rich golden hair pulled back for a change. "_Mais, oui!_ It is only appropriate then that we are here for the three most beautiful girls in the school."

"Right you are, mate! And speakin' of which, I see me lovely lady now!" Kataru walked forward, grinning as Mawata ran down to him, hugging him close and kissing his cheek. He deftly took her bag from her, slinging an arm around her shoulder. For the start of the school year, he'd gone crazy and decided that lime green with orange tips was a good idea. Mawata's hair was back to normal and she wasn't going to color it again for a while.

"Gotcha somethin', love," he said as they walked off.

"You didn't have to," Mawata answered, blushing.

"I know that! I wanted to. C'mon, lemme show ya!"

Mawata giggled and let him steer the way. They continued down the side walk until they stopped outside their favorite music store. It was barely noticeable, the glass of the door cracked and covered almost entirely in band stickers. From the outside it looked seedy at best, but inside it was a music lover's paradise. If they didn't have it, they would find it. Kataru held the door open for her, following her inside the dimly lit place.

"Hey, Aeris, you back there, mate?"

Aeris, the owner of the shop, came out of the back room. A big ring hung from his nose, another one in his eyebrow and a brand new one in his lip that looked a little red. "Dude, I just started to eat my sandwich."

"Yeah, yeah! Where's me purchase?"

The man rolled his eyes and reached under the counter to slap a cd on the top. Mawata picked it up curiously, eyes widening when she saw which one it was. "The Palm Readers? Where did you FIND this? I've been looking for it for years!"

Kataru grinned and shrugged. "Ask this fine gent back here. He's the bloody wizard with this stuff!"

"And a magician never reveals his tricks,"Aeris responded with a quick little smile. "Later, man, I've got a cheese steak in back with my name written in grease on the bun!"

Mawata was too busy reading the back to notice the man's departure.

"Well, you gonna open it?"

Smiling, she opened the cd case... and shrieked in delight when she saw two tickets inside. "Kataru, you got them! I thought they were sold out!"

He laughed, kissing her cheek. "Those were the last two tickets to see _La Traviotta_. They're not as good as the box seats yer mum probably has, but it's about all I could get. And it's for tonight, which means if you hurry and get dressed, we can have a nice cheap dinner somwhere before hittin' the opera."

Mawata laughed, dragging him out of the shop. "Thank you! This is so... thank you!"

"Hey, anything for me girl, right?"

* * *

Feryn sat waiting patiently, smiling to himself. Yayoi had almost fainted when he'd told her they were going to the Vera Wang studio for her to pick out her wedding dress. They weren't getting married for another three years, but to have a custome made gown would take some time. His eyes lit up when she came out of the fitting room, blushing and giggling in delight. "So, how about this one?"

The dress was strapless and fit her top like a corset before flaring out in a wide ballroom skirt. She had on white gloves and a short veil. This was it. She was the very picture of fairy tale bride in this gown. "_Tres belle, me fleur! Tu es magnifique!_"

Yayoi giggled again before going over to him and kissing him. Feryn smiled against her mouth, deepening the kiss even further. The woman helping with the fittings was trying hard not to stare at them. He didn't care, not in the least. This was the woman he loved and he wanted the world to know it!

Drawing back, he whispered, "Hurry and change. There is one more stop we must make today."

"Another?" Yayoi asked, puzzled.

"You shall see, _ma belle fleur_."

Yayoi hurried back into the fitting room and exited in record time, adjusting her school skirt as she went. Feryn pushed to his feet, taking her had in his. It was only a short walk to their next and final destination for the day. It was still early, but he knew this was the last stop. Yayoi would most likely be in until closing.

Two buildings before where they were going, Feryn stopped her. "Close your eyes, Yayoi. I do not want you to see the surprise until we are there."

"Okaaay." She did as she was asked, jumping a little when he placed one hand over her eyes to ensure she couldn't see through. He guided her down the side walk, smiling when the female clerk at the door saw them and opened it up. He had called ahead to inform them they were coming.

Once inside, Feryn removed his hand and whispered against her ear, "Open your eyes, Yayoi."

Yayoi did as he asked, gasping shortly before tears slid down her cheeks. "Tiffany's? Why are we at Tiffany's?"

"To pick out our wedding bands, of course. It only makes sense since this is where I found the engagement ring, _non?_"

Squealing excitedly, Yayoi jumped into his arms and kissed him hard. "I love you! You're so wonderful! Oh, where do I even start?"

Feryn laughed as she let him go and began exploring the store for their rings.

* * *

"Hey, you!"

Hayate smiled at the greeting before placing a quick kiss to her lips. "So, how was the first day of your senior year?" he asked as she tucked her arm around his.

Himeno rolled her eyes. "Did you know they assign HOMEWORK on the first day back? As if anyone can focus on homework after coming back from summer vacation! Oh, and speaking of vacation, have you heard from Kei or Sete yet?"

Hayate shook his head. "Not yet. It's been a week since they went to Thailand. I doubt he'll want to hear from any of us until after the honeymoon."

Two weeks ago, the safe house had woken in an uproar. Mannen had gone in with ice cold water balloons to drop on Kei... only to find a note hastily scribbled saying he and Sete had run off to get married and that NOBODY was to try and find them until they made contact. He did let them know they were in Thailand, but that was about it.

Himeno snickered. "I bet they're backpacking or something."

"You think so?" Hayate laughed.

"I mean, neither of them would want to, but Sete might make him just because it would amuse her to put him through all that. Hey, and if you and Feryn are here, who's watching the other three?"

"Ginshima and Kinshima have the honor today," Hayate said, obviously feeling sorry for the two. After Kei had left, the three had taken to tormenting the twins. The two were still so formal about things they didn't know quite how to react to all the teasing and pranks.

"You're evil! Mannen's gonna eat them alive!"

"Yes, but I wasn't about to miss meeting you after your first day. And Feryn was taking Yayoi out looking for dresses today."

Himeno wrinkled her nose. "I saw what she was considering for the bridesmaids. It's some frilly, poofy thing that's the color of grape pop. UGH!"

He laughed, giving her a sly look. "You're going to look so cute, Bid-"

"NOT IN PUBLIC!" Himeno quickly clamped a hand to his mouth to keep the awful nickname from coming out. "God, can you pretend for five minutes you're my boyfriend and NOT some jerk?"

Hayate pulled her hand away so that he could kiss it. "Is that better?"

"Yeah, a bit... hey, that's cheating!" He knew she found it terribly sexy when he kissed her wrist.

"Depends on the game," he answered. He stopped it all the same, giving her a smug smile. The bastard wasn't even sorry he'd turned her on like that!

They entered their usual after school spot; the ice cream shop. They got in line and scanned over the options available. It didn't take Himeno long to figure out what she wanted. It was finally their turn and Hayate got his money out and ready. "Can I have the chocolate ice cream with heath bar bits." He turned a wary eye to her.

"I'll have-,"

"Wait, let me guess," Hayate interupted. "You want the banana flavored ice cream with Oreo cookies and mustard, right?"

She made a disgusted face. "Ew! Why would you even joke about something so gross?"

"Okay, then it's going to be green tea ice cream with dried seaweed flakes and chocolate syrup."

That DID sound yummy, but it wasn't what she wanted. Smiling, she said, "Actually, I just want vanilla ice cream today!"

Both Hayate's and the ice cream man's jaws dropped in shock. Himeno laughed, pleased at his reaction. It took him a second to recover, swallowing heavily and nodding to the man to get her order. He paid and they took their ice cream to a table, sitting down across from each other.

Himeno glanced up in between bites as he continued to stab at his, just staring at her. "What?" she asked, licking her spoon clean.

"Nothing. Just... you never cease to amaze me, that's all," he said.

Leaning over the table, she kissed him long enough so that he wouldn't see her slide his ice cream across the counter space to her side. Drawing back, she said, "Let's hope that never changes!"

Hayate smiled, looking down as he was about take a bite. His eyebrows drew together before he looked across the table. He gave her a glare and said, "You stole my ice cream!"

Taking a big bite of it, she gave him a challenging smile. "So, what are you gonna do, take it back? Go ahead and try!"

She squirmed as he stood up and came to her side of the table. And, as he tickled her, making her squeek and laugh and make other noises she didn't know what to call, she continued to steal bites of his ice cream. The entire time, all she could think about was how much she loved him... and how much better his ice cream was than hers!

* * *

AUTHOR'S BIT: If any of you tune out for the acceptance speeches at award shows, this is where you can stop reading. I would like to thank first and foremost everyone who has reviewed for all three stories in the trilogy. The reason my stories have become so popular is because of the reviews. Thank you so much! I can't begin to say how touching it was to read every single one of them and respond when I could!

Second, thank you to everyone who even READ these stories! One of the greatest joys a writer can have is to know that people out there read your work and (hopefully) enjoyed it. Considering that Upsetting The Balance was one of the first fics I ever posted, I never imagined any of them would take off like this. So, thank you very much for liking what you read!

Third, thank you to the creators of Pretear for giving us ALL such a wonderful story! I doubt very much either of them would be interested in some crazy fangirl's fics, but they're the reason I found inspiration to write the trilogy. So, thank you for kicking Bob in the ass and breeding plot bunnies like I cannot believe! And also thank you for giving us such a wonderful fairy tale! Oh, and can I pretty PLEEEEEASE have Kei? Even if it's just for an hour, that's fine with me!

Okay, that's it. No, seriously that is. I don't have anything else for this fic. STOP STARING AT ME LIKE THAT! And dry your eyes, too! (sigh) Fine, fine... I DO have a new Pretear project that's going to be started soon. It's called **Acts Of Desperation** and will be about the love triangle/tragedy between Sasame, Takako and Hayate. SO, keep an eye out for it, okay? Well, that's enough plugging for one evening! Thank you again to ALL OF YOU! I'm seriously overwhelmed by you all for the support, the help, the critiquing and the in general love... (hugs everyone until they're blue in the face) Oh, right... I guess I shouldn't squeeze you all to death, should I? Hehe..., sorry!


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